United
by StephODell
Summary: United is a fanfic of a fanfic about what happens when the barriers that keep the animemangagame worlds seperate breaks down. The list of animemangagames in this story keeps getting longer and longer! If you like Kingdom Hearts, you'll LOVE this!
1. Chapter 1 Phoenix Rising

**United  
By Steph O'Dell**  
(Based on the Fanfiction "United We Stand" by Anime Master Zero)

**Chapter 1: Phoenix Unleashed**

Kanabara Takuya pulled his body up onto the ledge. Struggling to clear his feet, he strained and fell forward. Groaning, he rolled onto the stone ledge, and breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath.  
"This climb sucks!" Takuya groaned. "Why are we climbing up this cliff again?"  
"Be…cause," Minomoji Kouji panted, hauling himself onto the ledge as well. "It beats…the alternative."  
One by one, the Legendary Warriors climbed up onto the ledge, until Takuya wondered how the ledge could possibly support them all.  
Takuya turned his head to see his friends. "Listen up, guys," he started. "It's a bit farther. But we're almost there." He took a deep breath. "We have to be ready for anything once we get to the top. Remember that we don't really know where the Royal Knights are at any given time, so…uhh…we have to be ready…for anything…" Takuya scratched his head. "Uhh…what I'm trying to say is…"  
Kouji shook his head and sighed. "What Takuya's trying to say is that when we get to the top of this cliff, we'd all better be ready to fight."  
"Way to go, Niisan! Nice save!" Kimura Kouichi beamed.  
Kouji looked at his brother, irritated. "Yeah, sure…whatever…"  
Orimoto Izumi raised her hand and waved it wildly. "Ooh! I have a question!"  
"Everyone looked at Izumi blankly.  
"I don't think you need to raise your hand, Izumi," Kouji deadpanned.  
Izumi blinked. "Oh…yeah…right! Okay, well, I know that the bridge was out and all, but why are we climbing this cliff? Couldn't we just, I don't know, make a new bridge?"  
There was silence for a moment. "Yeah, we could," Takuya said slowly. "But this was also gives us the element of surprise. They'd expect us to try the road, but they'd never think we'd try to climb the cliff."  
"Well, I always wanted to rock climb," Shibita Junpei joked weakly.  
"I'm tired," Himi Tomoki whined.  
The form of Patamon came into sight over the edge of the ledge. It struggled to lift Bokomon and Neemon up high enough to put them on the ledge, but it just didn't have the strength in its wing-like ears.  
"Help!" it called. "I can't do it! Someone get them for me!  
Everyone leapt to grasp the three Digimon and hauled them onto the ledge. Patamon collapsed onto the rocky self and panted heavily.  
"Good heavens!" Bokomon exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I had a feeling you couldn't carry both of us, my dear little Patamon!"  
"It's okay, Papamon…" Patamon panted. "I overestimated myself."  
"I knew you couldn't! I even told you not to!" Neemon spoke up.  
"Oh, shut up!" Bokomon fired back. "You never said anything! And besides, I won't have you putting down Patamon like that!" Bokomon seized hold of Neemon's bright red pants and snapped the waistband viciously.  
Everyone tried their hardest to quell the fight.  
Except Kouichi. He stared off towards the top of the cliff. The wind rustled his clothes and hair. His eyes grew cloudy.  
"They're…here…" he whispered.

The top of the cliff was a flat plain. At first, there wasn't much to look at, except large boulders half-buried in the ground, and flimsy bushes that clung desperately to the sandy soil. Then, they saw it. Scorch marks on the ground and rocks. A battle had occurred in that area.  
"Someone had a fight here?" Izumi questioned.  
"Looks like it," Kouji stated dryly.  
"But…who?" Takuya looked around, totally amazed. "There's so much damage…"  
Junpei shaded his eyes and looked into the distance. "Maybe this is why the bridge was out…"  
Kouichi crouched down and touched the burnt soil. He rubbed some between his fingers.  
"Well, this was almost a waste of time," Kouji grumbled. "I mean, what were we expecting anyway?"  
Bokomon's ears drooped. "Oh dear…and I really thought she's be here…"  
"Do you mean Sirenmon?" Izumi asked.  
Bokomon nodded. "Sirenmon said that she would meet me here to inform me of the rest of Lucemon's legend…it might have provided us with some very valuable clues…"  
Takuya took off his hat and goggles and wiped his brow. He sighed. "Now what?" he asked as he put his headgear back on.  
"We can't stay here…" Kouichi whispered.  
"Huh?" Izumi turned, confused.  
Kouichi stared blankly at the burns on the ground, his eyes clouded over. "They're here. There's no stopping them. They'll take what they want and move on…like locusts…"  
Takuya started to go over and try to snap Kouichi out of his trance, but Kouji stopped him.  
"Who, Kouichi…who's here?" Kouji asked gently.  
Kouichi didn't answer right away. Then, he looked up at everyone, his eyes glazed and clouded.  
"…The SoulHunters…"  
A sound captured everyone's attention. Turning towards the trees down the slope, a figure stumbled out of the shadows.  
Bokomon gave a cry of astonishment. "SIRENMON!"  
Sirenmon leaned heavily on a tree, clutching her side, which was bleeding profusely. She coughed, and more blood streamed out of the corners of her mouth. Her wing-ears curled close to her head in pain. Her long blue hair was matted with blood.  
Bokomon wailed, horrified. He ran towards his friend. "Sirenmon! What happened? Who did this to you?!"  
Sirenmon coughed, and it wracked her body viciously. The Warriors ran over to support her.  
Takuya slowly lowered Sirenmon to the ground, where she sat heavily against a tree.  
"The…the little black creatures…they came from the shadows…so many…they…overwhelmed me…" Sirenmon struggled to speak. "So powerful…as a group…not even…Lucemon…is so strong…"  
"…The SoulHunters…did this…" Kouichi whispered.  
Sirenmon grasped Takuya's arm. "Their…weak spot…the emblem…on their chest…"  
Bokomon's eyes flowed over. "Oh…oh…Sirenmon…"  
Sirenmon leaned back, her eyes closing. She gave one last ragged breath, and then was silent. She slowly faded into data that formed an egg and disappeared.  
Takuya trembled, his eyes hidden in the shadows of his bangs. Then he reared back and cried savagely in pain and frustration, his fists clenched, his eyes squeezing out tears of fury. Then, he fell silent, his arms falling to his sides.  
"Here they come…" Kouichi said. Then he snapped back to normal.  
A second later, the SoulHunters started swarming out of the shadows. They rushed the children, their little red eyes blazing.  
"What the--?" Takuya was not prepared for what he was seeing, and fell backwards.  
"Quickly!" Bokomon commanded, panicking. "Use your spirits!"  
"Right!" the children acknowledged. Pulling out their D-Tectors, they shouted their war cries.  
"EXECUTE! Fusion evolution! ARIDRAMON!"  
"EXECUTE! Fusion evolution! BEOWOLFMON!"  
"EXECUTE! Spirit evolution! KAZEMON!"  
"EXECUTE! Spirit evolution! BEETLEMON!"  
"EXECUTE! Spirit evolution! KUMAMON!"  
"EXECUTE! Spirit evolution! LOWEMON!"  
The six warriors stood tall in front of the swarm of Shadows. The SoulHunters hissed and shrank away for a moment, and the Warriors took advantage.  
"ATOMIC INFERNO!" Aridramon cried, unleashing a rain of fireballs.  
"CLEANSING LIGHT!" Beowolfmon howled, firing off a fierce laser-and-missile attack.  
A cluster of SoulHunters scattered, but couldn't escape the barrage. They disintegrated instantly.  
"HURRICANE WIND!" Kazemon unleashed ten miniature tornadoes, which ripped apart a small group of SoulHunters, and toppled many more.  
"THUNDER FIST!" Beetlemon slammed his charged fist into another large group of SoulHunters with devastating results. Little shrieks of terror were all that could be heard as the Shadows vaporized.  
"BLIZZARD BLASTER!" Kumamon fired round after round of snowballs at the SoulHunters, causing many to disintegrate as the snowy missiles impacted.  
"SHADOW LANCE!" Lowemon swept through the crowd of SoulHunters, mowing down countless Shadows in his wake.  
But, still, there always seemed to be more.  
"They won't stop coming!" Beetlemon cried, horrified. (Junpei always seemed to be the first to cave under pressure.)  
"You knock one down, three more pop up!" Aridramon agreed. "They're like some mutant Hydra monster on crack!"  
"I'd say something," Beowolfmon retorted, "But now's not a good time."  
"Alright, then, time for the big guns!" Kazemon called. "Everyone, get back!"  
The group made room, and Kazemon dropped onto her hands and started to spin. "TORNADO GAMBA!" she yelled. Using her legs as weapons, she beat down a large number of SoulHunters, while the whirlwind the attack created wiped out many more.  
Kazemon gracefully flipped herself back onto her feet, and flicked a long strand of hair as the crowd of SoulHunters disintegrated into nothingness.  
"All right!" Kumamon cried happily.  
"Nice work!" Aridramon agreed.  
"_Gratzi_," Kazemon replied.  
Suddenly, the shadows spawned more SoulHunters. The Warriors groaned inwardly.  
"More?" Beowolfmon complained. "Haven't they had enough yet?"  
But instead of the SoulHunters attacking the Warriors, they all bunched together into a large, seething mass that morphed into an even bigger SoulHunter. This one was much, much, MUCH bigger, and bore pitch-black armor on its arms, legs and back. It roared savagely, then stepped forward. The whole plain shook.  
"WHOA!" everyone cried, trying hard not to loose their balance.  
The SoulHunter swung his arm and knocked over the whole group, slamming them into trees and rocks. Everyone cried in pain, and then de-digivolved.  
The SoulHunter bore no interest in the helpless children. Instead, it unleashed a huge fireball from its mouth, and proceeded to torch the forest.  
Dazed and hurt, Takuya sat up slowly, holding his head. "_Why..._" he wondered, "_Isn't it attacking us?...It knows we're hurt...so why?..._"  
Takuya looked around. He'd been thrown rather near the edge of the cliff, and he was thankful he hadn't fallen over the edge. It was a long way down...  
The rest of the group was near the forest, which was now burning fiercely. They seemed unconscious.  
"What are you doing, you ungrateful bag of shit?!" a voice yelled. The SoulHunter turned towards the sound. Takuya looked, too.  
Standing on a bluff over the plain was a young man, no, just a boy, really; no older than Takuya himself. He was garbed in black clothes, and a long black jacket. His platinum blond hair was spiky and shoulder-length. But most surprising of all, the boy wore a black bandana over his eyes. And yet, he seemed to still be able to see everything that was happening.  
The boy pointed a finger at the SoulHunter. "Kill them, if you know what's good for you! That's why you're here!"  
"Who...who ARE you?" Takuya yelled angrily. "And what do you think you're doing?!"  
The boy turned to 'look' at Takuya. Not being able to see the boy's eyes really creeped Takuya out.  
"Who am I?" the boy retorted curtly. "Why, that's none of your business. And as for what I'm doing...I'm watching." He indicated the SoulHunter. "HE'S about to kill you. And all your little buddies, too."  
The SoulHunter turned to face the children. Takuya felt panic rise in his throat. "_Oh great_," he thought, "_Now what do I do? I'm pretty sure I can't Digivolve again...so what's left?_" Takuya stood, unsteadily.  
"NO! Don't hurt them!" he cried, holding his arms wide in a pleading gesture. "Whatever it is you want, I'm sure we can work this out!"  
The boy laughed hysterically. "Yeah, right, whatever. You don't get it, do you? We're only here to destroy everything, get it? There is no 'work things out'." The boy made mocking hand gestures like brackets to emphasize his point. "I couldn't care less about you or your little friends. All I want are their Heart Crystals." He signaled the SoulHunter. "Kill them," he said, as if he was tired, and wanted it all to end so he could go home. "Kill them all."  
Takuya screamed as the SoulHunter brought his giant hands down on his friends. Takuya could hear their fragile bodies being snapped like twigs. He cringed, and choked back bile. "Oh God...I can't do anything...oh my god..."  
The SoulHunters lifted his hands, and Takuya watched as the bloody, broken bodies of his friends disintegrated into nothing, leaving behind beautiful crystals, all of which seemed raw, uncut, jagged. But all with a stunning radiance.  
"Oh God...Kouji...Izumi...Junpei...Tomoki...huh? Wait! Where's Kouichi?!" Takuya's guilt and agony were suddenly replaced with fear and anxiety. "Where the hell is Kouichi?!"  
Takuya cast his gaze around desperately, and saw Kouichi laying not far from him, unconscious. As Takuya watched, horrified, the shadows seemed to move in and swallow Kouichi up.  
"KOUICHI!!!" Takuya cried, utterly horrified.  
The boy laughed behind Takuya. "Believe me," he said, "He's gone to a better place." The boy leapt down off the bluff and onto the plain, and walked towards the crystals.  
"I think, without a doubt, these are the best crystals we've ever harvested!" he crowed, chuckling.  
But as he reached down to pick up the crystals, Takuya slammed his fist full force into the boy's head, sending him reeling. Takuya glared at the boy with a death glare. Fire burned in his eyes, which had gone hard.  
"You...sonoffa bitch...I'll...kill you..." he whispered fiercely.  
The boy stood up, slowly dusting himself off. "Bastard...you hit me!"  
Takuya scooped up the crystals, and hurriedly stuffed them in his pocket. "I'll do a lot worse to you yet."  
"Kill him already!" the boy screamed at the SoulHunter. "Or I'll use you as dog food!"  
The SoulHunter slammed Takuya with his fist, sending Takuya flying towards the edge of the cliff. He gasped, and dug in his feet. His sneakers lost an inch of rubber, but he stopped before he fell off.  
"Just DIE ALREADY!" the boy screamed, infuriated.  
Takuya wiped his bloody lip, and braced himself. The next one hit him like a truck. He flew off the edge, and time seemed to slow to a crawl.  
"_Oh my god...I'm going to die...I'll fall and hit the bottom...and that'll be that. They'll find my body, all broken and bloody...oh god..._"  
Takuya suddenly became aware of a strange sensation taking over him. It felt warm, and slightly painful.  
In his weakened state, Takuya didn't have the strength to fight it off.  
He slipped into unconsciousness.

"Takuya..." a voice called faintly, waking Takuya from his dark sleep.  
Takuya groaned, and pried his eyes open.  
His vision was blurred, but only for a moment. Slowly, a brunette boy came into focus. The boy smiled, and his brown eyes were warm and comforting.  
"Hi," the boy said. "Sleep well?"  
"Were...am I?..." Takuya groaned, and sat up slowly. Every part of him ached.  
"Hey, whoa, easy there," the boy braced Takuya. "You're still pretty weak yet. Just take it easy." The boy smiled again, and Takuya felt a little more at ease. Somehow he felt like he could trust this boy.  
"My name is Ryo," the boy explained. "And this place is the AMGDI--the Anime, Manga and Game Defense Initiative. Don't worry if you're not sure what that means exactly."  
Takuya blinked, his face blank. "I have NO idea what you're talking about."  
Ryo smiled. "That's okay...like I said, don't worry about it. The main thing is, you're safe." He gave a deep breath. "Okay, let me explain what happened to you. The SoulHunters--creatures spawned from the shadows, whose only objective is to destroy everything, attacked you. They consume the purest of heart crystals to fuel themselves. Heart crystals," he continued, "Are the person's soul--all of their emotions and memories--locked into a solid form. The purer the heart, the purer the crystal, and the more powerful it is."  
You mean...those crystals I have are...my friend's souls?" Takuya asked, disbelieving.  
"That's right. We put them away, in the vault, where they'll be safer. Just in case you're wondering where they went," Ryo explained.  
Takuya's hand immediately went for his pocket, and, sure enough, the crystals were gone.  
"Okay..." Takuya chose his words carefully. "Now that I know what attacked me and why, how did I get here?" He looked around the medical ward. "Wherever here is."  
Ryo smiled. "Okay that I can explain..."

_Takuya was plummeting towards the ground at a high rate of speed, and Ryo wasn't sure he'd be able to catch Takuya in time. He strained his arm, trying desperately to reach.  
"A little bit more, Cyberdramon!" he urged his partner on.  
Just as Ryo's fingers brushed Takuya's sleeve, however, Ryo noticed Takuya was stopping his fall. An orangey-red aura appeared around him, and the form of a phoenix enclosed Takuya's unconscious body in its embrace. The phoenix's strong wings kept them both in the air.  
"He is!" Ryo gasped. "He is a Stoneholder!" Ryo recovered face long enough to grab hold of Takuya, and pull him into a supportive grip. The phoenix disappeared in a scattering of flame.  
"Let's go, Cyberdramon! Hightail it outta here!" Ryo cried, and Cyberdramon complied. The three took off towards the rendezvous coordinates._

Takuya stared. "I'm supposed to believe that a phoenix came out of me, and saved me from falling?"  
Ryo shrugged. "That's what happened. Believe it, or not. It proves that you're a Stoneholder."  
Takuya's brow knitted together. "Stoneholder?"  
Ryo nodded. "Look at your left hand."  
Takuya pulled his glove off, and gasped. Embedded deep in the back of his left hand was a deep, red-red stone. It seemed to flicker inside, like a live flame had been trapped inside of it, and was trying to escape. Tilting it slightly, a kanji flickered into view. _Hi_; flame.  
"Wha...what is that?!" Takuya cried.  
"The Stone of Fire," Ryo explained. "Having it in your possession means you are the one chosen to hold power over the element. There are 13 others like you, all with similar stones, all with different elements. Our job, here at the AMGDI, is to find them all."  
Takuya looked shocked. "It...doesn't hurt..."  
"Of course not," Ryo chuckled. "It's a part of you. It's like your nose, or your fingers. It's just an extension of yourself."  
A device on Ryo wrist crackled to life, and a voice came through. "Ryo! Where are you? Susanou's asking for you, sir!"  
"Thanks, Ritchie," Ryo replied, speaking into the device. "Tell him I'm on my way." Ryo stood up, and looked at Takuya. "I've got to go for a moment--my boss wants to see me. Try not to go anywhere, okay? You're still not strong enough yet."  
Takuya gave a thumbs up. "It's okay, BUD-dy! Don't worry! I'll be okay here!"  
Ryo smiled, and left the room.  
Takuya looked around the ward. There were several clean beds, but they were all empty. Save one, on the far end of Takuya's row. A young boy--at least, Takuya thought it was a boy (his hair was so long, and his features were so delicate)--lay asleep under the white sheets. He had several IV's in his arms, and a breathing apparatus in his nose.  
In the chair beside the bed was another boy. He was slumped over, his head on his arm, laying on the sick boy, sound asleep. His dark clothes were dusty and torn, and his long white scarf was tattered in several places.  
Takuya eased himself to his feet, and padded over to the boys. The sick boy lay, his long raven hair spread around his face. He seemed pale and cold, and his breathing was shallow. Takuya glanced down at the IV's and shuttered.  
That's when he noticed the stone in the boy's left hand. It was a pale green color, and it seemed to have a bolt of lightning trapped inside that darted around, seeking a way out. The kanji for thunder flashed in the light.  
Takuya slowly reached out to touch the stone. _Another one, just like me..._ he thought. His fingers brushed the stone, and he felt a spark.  
"Ow!" he whispered. It hadn't hurt, it had only startled him.  
Suddenly, the other boy's strong hand clamped around Takuya's wrist. Takuya gave a sharp cry of pain. He looked at the other boy.  
The boy's cold, gray eyes frightened Takuya more than the grip on his wrist, which was so tight, he could feel the small bones grind. The boy's eyes snapped dangerously.  
"Get away from him," he hissed.  
Takuya tried vainly to free himself from the vice grip. "I...I'm sorry!" he stammered. "It's just that—"  
The boy half threw Takuya to the floor. Finally free, Takuya rubbed his sore wrist, whimpering. The boy glared at Takuya.  
"I never want to see you near him again. Got it?" he spat at Takuya, threateningly. "You're not good enough to be anywhere near him!"  
"I…didn't mean…I was just…" Takuya was terrified. This boy was fierce.  
"I don't care if you ARE a StoneHolder! If you come near him again, I'll kill you." The boy pulled out what Takuya first thought was a gun. But on closer inspection, he realized it was some kind of device for launching a _beygoma_, or spinning top. And it looked sharp. The top, not the launcher.  
Takuya felt it best to hightail it out of the room at that moment. Unfortunately, the boy had other ideas.  
"GET BACK HERE!" the boy yelled, chasing after Takuya.  
Takuya ran out the door of the medical ward, and shot down the hall as fast as he could. Behind him, he heard the sound of the top being launched, and he took a sharp left. He heard the top impact the wall, shattering a piece off, and causing a large hole to be created. The boy, however, willed the top back into his hand and prepared to refire.  
Takuya glanced over his shoulder as he ran, and saw the boy at the end of the hall, preparing to shoot. Takuya screamed, and turned his head back around, searching for a fast exit.  
"STOP!" a voice yelled. Takuya turned to see a short boy with dark hair tackle the first boy to the ground. The larger boy growled savagely.  
"Get off me, Sora! This has nothing to do with you!" The boy tried to shove the other one off of him.  
"No way, Kai! You can't hurt him! It would be bad! We need the StoneHolders!" the boy called Sora cried, clinging savagely to the older boy's legs.  
"He pissed me off! I need to teach the little punk a lesson!" Kai fired back. He pushed at Sora, but the small boy was stronger than he appeared. He held fast.  
Takuya stared at the two boys blankly. _What in the world is going on here…?_ he wondered.

Ryo stepped inside the large office of his superior. He glanced around nervously. The room was rather cold, and the many dangerous objects that adorned the walls made him wonder.  
The large chair behind the huge oak desk rotated, and Susanou turned to face Ryo. The celestial being smiled painfully at Ryo.  
"Do you know why you're here, Ryo?" he asked.  
Ryo sighed. "We lost another world to the SoulHunters," he replied wearily.  
Susanou sighed as well, and massaged his eyes. "Well, that, and we almost lost a StoneHolder." Susanou looked up into Ryo's grim face. "What kept you? You showed up late. Because of that, we lost four valuable fighters, and possibly another StoneHolder. We're lucky we have Takuya."  
Ryo winced and looked at his shoes. "I…I had some…trouble…with the natives…"  
Susanou closed his eyes. After a moment's silence, he spoke. "You were the best person for the job. I trusted you. I told everyone you could do it, and you let me down." He brought his hands down on the desk as he stood up. "Dammit, Ryo! Hien's going to rub this in my face until Doomsday!"  
"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again," Ryo assured Susanou quietly.  
"It had better not. Takuya almost didn't make it. Hien would kill me if something happened to the Warrior of Fire all because SOMEone I hired couldn't do his job!" Susanou's silver eyes flashed.  
Ryo gave a weak smile. "Relax, sir. Takuya's fine. I'm sure he's sleeping right now. I'm sure he's staying out of trouble."

Takuya screamed and ducked to avoid Kai's fist.  
"Stand still, you piece of garbage!" Kai growled. He took another swing, and Takuya leaned sideways to avoid it.  
Takuya held up his hands in a pleading manor. "Look, can't we just talk? I'm not sure what I did to make you angry, but I'm positive if we just try to work it out—"  
"YOU work it out!" Kai screamed. He decked Takuya in the head. Takuya bounced off the wall, and Kai grabbed him by the shirt.  
"Take this!" he yelled, winding up to deck Takuya at point-blank range. Sora grabbed his arm.  
"Stop it! Stop it, Kai!" Sora pleaded. "This isn't what he would have wanted!"  
Takuya winced, and waited for impact. But suddenly, he felt the stone in his hand grow warm. He opened his eyes, and saw the stone was glowing. And down the hall, in the medical ward, the other stone was reacting as well. The room was filled with a bright green light, and the sleeping boy's body lifted off the bed and into the air.  
_…Kai…_  
The soft voice echoed through Takuya's head. At first, Takuya thought he was imagining it. But then, Kai's face went pale, and his eyes grew large with fright.  
_…please…stop…no more…_  
"…R…Rei…" Kai stuttered, sweat beading on his brow. "REI!" Kai let go of Takuya and dashed down the hall to the medical ward. He stopped inside the door, gasping.  
Takuya and Sora came up behind Kai, and were also amazed by what they saw.  
Rei's limp body was levitating a foot off his bed. His whole body was engulfed in the light of his stone.  
_…Kai…  
_Kai stepped forward. He stared at Rei, amazed. "Rei…please! I need you back! Come back to me! Please!" Tears gathered at the edges of Kai's eyes.  
Rei was still deep in sleep. His voice echoed through the minds of all those present.  
_…I…I'm lost…oh Kai…it's dark…and cold…help…help me, Kai…_ Panic made the voice grow louder. _Kai…I'm alone…and so frightened…no! NO!!_ The voice rose to a scream. _NO!!!!!_  
Everyone winced, and clamed their hands over their ears. Rei's tormented voice was loud and piercing.  
"REI!!" Kai screamed, frightened for Rei. "I want to help you! Tell me how!"  
Then, just as quickly as it had all began, it ended. The light died away, and Rei dropped back down onto the bed. Kai ran to Rei's side, gathering his friend into his arms, sobbing and holding Rei.  
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Kai rocked back and forth, crying fiercely.  
"What…just happened?" Takuya asked, completely dazed.  
Sora shrugged. It seemed he didn't know either.  
Just then, Ryo walked into the room. He took one look around, and sighed. He looked at Sora, and made a face.  
"Start explaining," he said, flatly.

Ryo shook his head, exasperated. "I can't even leave you alone for a few minutes without you getting into trouble, Takuya."  
Takuya squirmed. "Sorry…"  
Ryo sighed deeply. "Okay, look. Let me explain Kai. He's…touchy. He's very protective about Rei, and doesn't let ANYONE get close. Rei's been in a coma since he came here, and Kai keeps blaming himself. He says it was his fault." Ryo shook his head. "Kai's the only one who can explain what happened. And he's not talking." He turned his head, and looked over at Kai.  
"They…hurt him…" Kai seemed to be in a trance. His voice was hollow and distance. "They…broke his heart…"  
Takuya looked puzzled. "Huh?"  
Ryo suddenly seemed to understand. "They…they damaged his heart crystal! That's it, isn't it?!"  
Kai nodded.

_Kai stared out on the water by the overpass. The setting sun reflected off the small waves in the river, glittering in oranges, yellows and reds. Kai chewed a piece of grass, and drank in the ambience of the encroaching evening.  
"Hey Kai," a voice came from behind Kai, momentarily startling him. Turning, Kai saw Takao, standing highlighted against the sun. Takao smiled.  
Kai smirked. "Takao. What are you doing here?"  
Takao, sat down beside Kai. "I sometimes come here to think. I didn't think I'd see you here."  
Kai gave a "Hmph." "I always come here, and you know it."  
Takao laughed. "Okay, so I'm a bad liar. But I needed to talk to you."  
"About what?" Kai asked.  
"Are…you really going to leave?…" Takao seemed sad.  
Kai stared at the water for a moment. "Yeah…for a while. But not forever."  
Takao smiled. "Well, that's good. I mean, I don't want you to go away forever."  
The two were silent for a moment.  
"Kai…what about us?" Takao's voice was soft.  
Kai didn't answer right away. "I'm…not sure…"_

_Takao had left a while before. Kai had been faced with a moral dilemma. On the one hand, him and Takao had a relationship. The washing machine incident had been proof of that. But on the other hand, Rei was alluring and tempting. And they were such good friends. Although, that one time in the restaurant kitchen was intense. Leaving would hurt both boys, and possibly destroy their relationships.  
Kai contemplated what he was going to do while he walked home. As he walked by an alleyway, a flicker of movement caught Kai's eye. He glanced over and peered into the darkness. It seemed that the very shadows themselves were moving.  
Suddenly, a SoulHunter leapt out of the darkness at Kai. Kai gave a sharp noise of surprise, and ducked out of the way. The creature turned and made another leap, but this time Kai was ready. He roundhouse kicked the Shadow into a nearby light post. The creature disintegrated into nothingness upon impact. Kai panted, recovering from the shock.  
He broke into a run, heading towards the Kinomiya Dojo. He knew he had to protect his friends.  
On the way, he encountered more of the Shadows. Every group slowed him down as he fought his way through. He beat them off viciously, growing more angry with every one.  
"Back off, you little vermin!" he yelled, kicking another Shadow into a wall. "I have better places to be than here!"  
After what seemed like forever, Kai finally arrived at Takao's family Dojo. He glanced around, worried, until he saw Takao and the others. They were backed into a corner of the garden, fighting a large knot of Shadows.  
Kai charged in, yelling a blood-curdling war cry. "Get away from them!" he screamed.  
The melee that followed was fast and furious. Everyone fought with everything they had to hold off the endless waves of Shadows. Takao beat off the SoulHunters with a stick, wielding it like a bakuto (wooden sword). Max punched his way through, targeting the crests on the Shadow's chests. Rei and Kai fought together, combining Rei's Cat Fu with Kai's Kickboxing into a violent beat down, causing much pain and screams. Daichi's Monkey Fu caused major damage, as he used both feet and hands to toss the Shadows into trees and walls. Hitoshi threw shirkin and shuri knives at the Shadows, precisely targeting each Shadow's crest with N1nj4 precision. And Kyouji and Hitomi stayed in the corner, with Hitomi wildly swinging a bakuto, and Kyouji cowering behind her.  
"Take that! And that! And that!" Hitomi cried, beating the Shadows down as if she was killing whack-a-moles.  
After a while, the Shadows stopped coming. The knot dispersed as the kids killed off the last of the Shadows. There was a moment of quiet, then Max gave a whoop.  
"All right!" he yelled happily, grabbing Takao by the waist and jumping up and down. Takao blushed, and laughed as he grabbed Max by the shoulders. Kai smiled over at Takao. It looked like Takao'd be fine if Kai went away after all. He'd moved on from the heartbreak he'd felt when he'd found out Kai had had feelings for Rei as well. At first the triangle of love had torn Takao apart. But it seemed that his old feelings for Max had pulled him through. The honey-haired boy had always loved Takao, and now the old love could finally bloom. Kai was happy. Takao had been a love he had never felt right about, as if the heated passion he felt was actually lust and not love at all. Rei was more stable, and fought back at first. Which was a total turn-on for Kai. Struggle and make it more interesting, he'd always said. Rei had resisted Kai's advances, and even the night Kai cornered him in the restaurant, he'd been afraid.  
Rei'd ran around the small kitchen, trying to escape, but Kai had cut him off, time and again. Rei beat against Kai's solid chest with his fists, in a futile attempt to break free. But Kai's steel grip on Rei's wrists was too much. Rei had been pinned onto the counter, and his uniform front had been ripped open. Kai has smothered Rei's screams in kisses. Rei finally had succumb, and Kai proceeded to make passionate love to Rei on the kitchen counter. He'd even spiced it up by pouring sweet and sour sauce on Rei's chest, and licked it off, saying it made Rei tastier.  
Kai looked over at Rei, and Rei blushed beet red. Oh yes, Rei remembered, all right.  
"Okay," Hitoshi spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "What were those things, and where did they come from?"  
"I'm not even sure I know what they wanted," Kyouji said, visibly shaken by the experience.  
"Well, they're gone now," Hitoshi answered firmly. " So let's all just calm down, and—"  
"You really think it's over? Guess again," a voice spoke up. Turning, everyone saw a boy standing on the wall of the garden. He was clothed in black, with platinum hair, and a black bandana covering his eyes. He held a sword roughly shaped like a key, which he rested on his shoulder. A swarm of Shadows began to climb over the wall, and gather all around him. The boy gave a dark laugh. "Oh no," he continued. "It's FAR from over. It has just begun." He pointed at the group with his sword. "Kill them," he demanded.  
The group braced themselves. This group of Shadows was faster and more skilled then the last group. The kids realized they were sorely overwhelmed. Hitoshi threw himself in front of the group. "RUN!!" he demanded. "Get out of here! I'll hold them off."  
"No way!" Takao shot back. "You're my brother! I can't just leave you here! I'm staying!"  
"No!" Hitoshi countered. "You all need to survive! I'm not as important! Besides, I'm more skilled than all of you. Now get the hell out of here!"  
"It doesn't matter if you go or stay," the boy chuckled. "You'll all die." He leapt at Hitoshi, sword extended. Hitoshi caught the blade in his hands.  
"GO!!!" he screamed at the kids.  
Max grabbed Takao's arm, and dragged Takao off with the rest of the group.  
"NIISAN!!" Takao screamed, terrified. He reached for Hitoshi, but Max kept dragging.  
The front yard was choked with more Shadows. Kai felt his throat drop into his stomach. "Crap," was all he could say.  
"Kai, what'll we do? There's no way out!" Rei's voice was panicked.  
"We're not done in yet," Kai replied, grimly. He grabbed Rei's arm, and ran towards the crowd of Shadows. "If we can't go around…" The two jumped. "…We'll go OVER!" Kai turned his head and yelled at the others. "Follow us!"  
The kids all ran out of the yard, jumping from head to head of the Shadows. They suddenly realized that the whole town was infested. Shadows were everywhere. They ran down the street, fleeing the growing crowds of Shadows. Suddenly, Hitomi tripped. She shrieked as she hit the pavement, and Takao turned.  
"Hitomi!" he screamed.  
"Help!" she shrieked. "I'm scared! I don't want to die! Takao!"  
As Takao ran towards Hitomi, a Shadow thrust its needle-like arm through Hitomi's chest. Hitomi gasped, blood streaming down the corners of her mouth. Her eyes grew very large, and then she disintegrated. The Shadow grabbed her Heart Crystal and prepared to swallow it, but Takao kicked the creature in the head. The head seemed to explode, and the creature vanished. Takao picked up the Heart Crystal, and made a face. "Eww. Monster goo on my shoe," he muttered.  
"Takao! Let's go!" Max cried, grabbing Takao's arm and yanking him along.  
The group ran down roads and through parks. But, as they took a turn, they realized they were trapped in a cal-de-sac.  
"A dead end!" Daichi panicked. The kids turned to find the way out was blocked off by a large group of Shadows.  
"We're going to have to fight our way out!" Takao growled.  
"No!" Kai cried. "Don't! Takao, it's too dangerous! There's way too many!" Kai realized he was panicking. He'd never lost his cool like this before.  
But it was too late. Daichi had leapt into the fray. Takao had stopped short on hearing Kai, but he started again to try to pull Daichi back.  
Daichi felt the sting of the Shadow's blade too late. He coughed, and blood trickled out of his mouth.  
Takao caught Daichi's limp body as it fell backward. Daichi's green eyes looked up into Takao's face. "I…I'm sorry…Takao…" Daichi's body vanished, leaving his Heart Crystal in Takao's lap.  
Takao screamed angrily at the sky. "WHY?!" he screamed.  
Kyouji cried in pain as he too was impaled. Rei caught the small boy, but Kyouji vanished. Rei gasped, and cried out in horror as Kyouji's Heart Crystal fell into his hand.  
"What's happening?!" Max cried. He backed up, holding tightly onto Takao, who was still in a state of shock.  
Kai felt Max's back push against his. The four boys were all back to back now, facing down the horde of Shadows.  
The platinum haired boy from before suddenly appeared, and the sea of Shadows parted in his wake. He stopped several feet in front of Takao.  
"Where's Hitoshi? Where's my brother?" Takao demanded.  
The boy laughed manically. "That asshole back there? Ha! He wasn't worth my time." The boy threw Hitoshi's blood-soaked BBA jacket at Takao's feet.  
Takao fell to his knees, his face frozen in fear. He stared at the jacket, disbelieving that his brother would be, could be, dead.  
"No…" he whispered. "It's…not true. You couldn't have…he can't be…"  
The boy waved his hand at Takao. "Kill them all. Right now. GO!"  
The Shadows leapt forward. Max screamed and threw himself down on top of Takao.  
The blade went right through both Max and Takao, pinning them both to the pavement. The two screamed in pain.  
Kai felt the tears overflow. "TAKAO!" he yelled. He ran to the two as the Shadow's blade withdrew. He cradled the two boys in his arms.  
"Kai…" Takao whispered. "Don't…cry…"  
The two disintegrated. Kai clenched the Heart Crystals, and his teeth ground together.  
"You…monster!" he spat. His aura began to gather, and in an instant, he became engulfed in flame. "I'll kill you!" He yelled his war cry, and a pair of phoenix wings sprang from his shoulders, and a phoenix tail sprang forth. His aura concentrated in his hands. Kai's true from had been unleashed.  
Kai formed his aura into a bow, and, using one of his own feathers, created an arrow. He cocked the bow, and fired.  
The boy was almost too stunned to move. But at the last minute, he parlayed the arrow with his blade.  
"Not bad," the boy commented. But you can do better, can't you?"  
Kai's bow re-formed and became a saber. He charged the boy, and they began to fence. The blows rained on each other, and it seemed as though Kai might win. But then he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. Rei screamed in fear.  
Rei had been fighting off the Shadows while Kai had been fighting the boy. But now Rei was trapped, backed into a corner. He leaned against the wall, shaking with fear.  
Kai, growled, and with one swing, he knocked the other boy down. He them made a mad dash for Rei.  
Just as Kai reached Rei's side, a Shadow lunged forward, blade extended. Kai tried to knock Rei out of the way, but it wasn't enough. The blade pierced Rei near his heart. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the air as a large piece of Rei's Heart Crystal shattered. Rei's face twisted in intense pain.  
Kai screamed. Rei landed on the ground with a heavy THUMP! Kai cradled Rei's lifeless body in his arms, crying and sobbing. His wings curled protectively around them.  
The boy smirked. He rose to his feet and walked towards Kai and Rei. "Well, that Crystal's useless now. But the others aren't. So I'll be taking them now."  
Kai shuttered, and threw back his head. He howled an inhuman scream, and his aura became live flame that incinerated the entire area.  
The boy gasped, and disappeared with a disgusted grunt. The Shadows were not so lucky. They all were destroyed as the shockwave ripped through the cal-de-sac.  
As the flames disappeared, Kai's body returned to normal. The wings and tail vanished in a scatter of scarlet feathers, and he slumped over Rei's lifeless body.  
As he lay there, a burst of flame flared up in front of them. It morphed into the form of a young man. He had short orangey-red hair, and rich clothes. He knelt in front of Kai, and set his hand on Kai's head comfortingly.  
"You did very well, Kai," the man said. "But you have to leave. This world is unstable, and is about to die. I'm taking you someplace safe." He gathered the two boys in his arms, and disappeared in a burst of flame._

"So, Hien saved you," Ryo reasoned softly. Kai nodded wearily.  
Takuya sniffed. "I'm so sorry," he whimpered. "I…had no idea…"  
Kai gave Takuya an annoyed look, and hit him in the head with a nearby bedpan.  
Takuya fell over with a crash, and Ryo looked shocked.  
"I don't need your pity, dickwad!" Kai growled savagely.  
"Anyway," Ryo interrupted, trying to calm the situation. "Takuya, I have to take you to see Hien now. He's asking for you."  
"Did Susanou yell at you again, Ryo?" Kai asked, obviously enjoying Ryo's annoyance at the question.  
"…Yes," Ryo replied through gritted teeth. "Now shut, go back to your room and sleep for a while. You need it. You're a mess."  
Kai fingered Ryo.

Takuya rubbed his head, and looked at Ryo. "Why am I here again?"  
Ryo smiled. "You have to check in with the boss. We all do from time to time. Hien is Kai's boss too. Don't worry," he continued, seeing Takuya's worried face. "He's really nice, I've heard. Unfortunately, I can't come in with you. But you'll be okay!"  
Takuya swallowed, and opened the door. Hien was yelling into his phone.  
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'it didn't show up?!'" he growled to someone on the other end. "I sent it YESTERDAY!!" There was a pause. "Then FIND IT already! Or I'll come down there, and stuff that requisition UP YOUR NOSE!!" Hien then slammed the phone down.  
Takuya's face was one of fear, He turned to Ryo, and Ryo held up his hands helplessly. He closed the door with a final "Good luck!"  
_Oh great_, Takuya thought. _Stuck in here with the scariest guy I've ever met. And that includes KAI!_  
Hien sighed, and turned to see Takuya standing there. "Oh! Takuya!" he smiled friendly. "Come. Sit down, will you?" He waved to the chair in front of the desk.  
Takuya looked puzzled. _Boy, does this guy have mood swings or what!_  
Hien pushed some of his orangey-red hair out of his face. "See this white streak?" he asked, pointing to a piece of white hair in the front of his bangs. "Kai gave me that. He's such a pest." Hien laughed. "Actually, I'm kidding. I was born with it, but it seems like Kai gave it to me."  
Takuya smiled nervously. He took his seat, and cleared his throat.  
Hien sat down, and patted Takuya's hand. "You seem tense. Can I get you something? Tea? Pop?"  
Takuya shook his head.  
Hien cleared his throat and looked serious. "I'm sure your confused, and full of questions. Like, where exactly are you, and why are you here? What happened to your friends?" He was silent for a moment. "Well, this place is a Sanctuary. A place between worlds where the elements are governed. Myself, Susanou, Umi and Gaia realized that once the worlds began to collapse, there was nowhere for the survivors to go. So we brought them here.  
"At first, there was only Ryo, Kai and Rei, Sora, and one other, a boy called Chaud. The boys set up this facility, and we've been working to save the worlds ever since. You see, the more the worlds are destroyed, the weaker we become; myself and my associates. We are directly linked to the elements. I am Fire. Umi is Water. Susanou is Wind. And Gaia is Earth. The SoulHunters seek to destroy all living things and reshape it into a world were living things are their slaves. We cannot allow that to happen. The stone in your hand is one key to stopping that from happening."  
Takuya nodded. "Ryo said it was some kind of elemental stone."  
Hien smiled wryly. "Ryo is very vague sometimes. That's why I let Susanou handle him. That and Ryo is Wind based. That's the element that protects him. Kai is Fire, so he answers to me. Sadly," Hien added dryly. "He won't stop moping, and it's driving everyone crazy.  
"The Stones, once gathered together, will unlock a great power that will either restore all the damaged worlds to perfection…or destroy everything utterly." Hien added the last part darkly. He laced his fingers together, and leaned his chin on them. "The 'key' lays in the hands of three girls aptly named 'the Seraphim.'"  
Takuya blinked. "Who are they?"  
Hien shrugged helplessly. "If we knew, they'd be in our possession already. But we do know that they hold incredible power. The SoulHunters also know this, and are seeking the Stoneholders and the Seraphim as well."  
Takuya clenched his fist and smiled. "Don't worry. You can count on me, sir. I'll find the Seraphim for you!"  
"That's the spirit!" Hien cried happily. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Kanabara!"  
The two shook hands to seal the deal.

NEXT CHAPTER: Umi becomes riled up about something, and demands that the AMGDI find a woman named Yuko. Things heat up when Kai is tempted to make a deal that will ultimately change his life…and potentially kill him! Will Rei ever wake up? And has the AMGDI found their first Seraphim?! Not if a certain man by the name of Sagara has anything to say about it! That's all next time in United: Chapter 2; "Make A Wish!"


	2. Chapter 2 Make A Wish!

**United**

**By Steph O'Dell**

Based on the fanfiction "United We Stand" by Anime Master Zero 

**Chapter 2: Make A Wish!**

Takuya slowly woke up, prying his blurry eyes open, and winching at the bright light coming in through his window. He heard birds chirping happily outside.

Groaning, Takuya rolled over and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He looked around, and realized that he wasn't at home. He sighed. He'd forgotten the events of the day before. This was the AMGDI, not his home in Shibuya. And he now had to save the universe from annihilation.

He fell onto his back on the bed. _Schoolwork was better than this…_

A knock on the door caught Takuya's attention. He sat up. "It's open," he called.

The door slid open with a hiss, and Ryo stepped in. Smiling, Ryo held out Takuya's now clean clothes. "I thought you might want these," he said sheepishly.

Takuya smiled. "Thanks," he replied. He stuffed his head through the neck of his shirt.

"When you're dressed," Ryo began, "You can come have breakfast."

"Cool!" Takuya spoke up. He smiled wide. Food was good. Food would be a good thing.

Ryo smiled back and nodded. Takuya hurriedly dressed, eager to eat.

Walking down the hallways, Takuya looked around, trying to absorb as much information as possible. He caught glimpses of what appeared to be training rooms, and even shooting ranges. He saw a large garden, with a pond and a small bridge, and hot springs with ornate waterspouts carved to look like dragonheads. Takuya shook his head in wonder. _How could a place have so much stuff all in one place? What exactly WAS this place?_

A young girl ran up to Ryo. She had long blond hair that touched the ground, and the strangest ears that Takuya had ever seen. The girl handed a device to Ryo.

"Here you go, sir," she said. "Here's the communicator you asked for."

"Thank you, Chii," Ryo replied. "You've been a big help."

Chii bowed, turned and left.

Takuya stared at Chii as she left. "Who…what was that?!"

Ryo chuckled. "That was Chii. She's a Persicom." Ryo smiled wryly at Takuya. "A Persicom is a cyborg created to help people. We found her on another world. She's been a big help." Ryo handed the device to Takuya. "This is for you."

Takuya looked at the device. It was the same wrist-mounted device Ryo wore. "What is this?" Takuya asked.

"A communications device. We use them to stay in contact with each other." Ryo grinned. "Now that you're one of us, you get one too!"

Takuya smiled as he put the communicator on. _One of them…_

The mess hall was clean, and had dozens of tables where many, many people could sit and eat. At the moment, only a few people were enjoying their breakfasts.

Ryo tugged Takuya's sleeve. "Over here," he said.

Takuya followed Ryo over to a counter. He reasoned that this was where they would get their food.

Ryo rang a small bell on the counter. Immediately after, a voice called out from the kitchen. "Just a moment!"

A boy came into view a moment later. He was rather tall for his age, and had spiky brown hair held back by a pink hair band. A few long strands of hair poked out from the top of his head, making it look as if he had cockroach antenna.

"Hi!" the boy said enthusiastically. "Good morning, Ryo-san! And you're new, aren't you?" he asked Takuya. "I'm Azuma Kazuma. Pleased to meet you!" He shook Takuya's hand firmly.

"I'm Takuya Kanabara," Takuya replied shakily. He wasn't sure what to think of this strange boy.

Azuma laughed heartily. "What can I get you this morning?"

Ryo smiled. "What's on the menu today?"

Azuma looked around, as if afraid someone might overhear. "Just between us," he began, speaking low. "I just finished Japan #167. Would you like to try it?"

Takuya knitted his brows, puzzled. _Japan #167?_

Azuma placed two buns on the food trays, and then added fruit and other stuff. He smiled. "Tell me what you think."

Ryo picked up the bun, and smiled at Takuya. "You're in for a treat. Azuma makes the best bread around."

Azuma blushed, embarrassed. "I wouldn't say that, Ryo-san!"

Takuya picked up his bun, and took a bite. He chewed for a moment, and then he suddenly had a flash. He was standing in a garden, with the flower blossoms falling all around him. The air was still, with only a soft breeze moving the petals through the air towards the ground in a white storm. The air smelled so fragrant, and Takuya breathed deeply. He felt so at peace. Then suddenly, he was standing in front of Azuma again. The young bread maker had an anxious look on his face. "Well?" he asked.

"That's amazing!" Ryo and Takuya spoke up at the same time. Azuma looked delighted.

"Yay! I knew adding vanilla bean extract would add that little something special!" Azuma bounced up and down, clapping happily. "Another success!"

Ryo led Takuya over to the table where everyone else was eating. "Told you Azuma was good."

Takuya nodded in agreement.

Ryo and Takuya sat down, and everyone looked up, except Kai, at the other end of the table. It took a moment, but Takuya realized Kai was asleep, probably the first sleep he'd had in a long while.

Ryo began introducing Takuya to everyone at the table. "Takuya, this is Ritchie, our transporter chief." Ritchie smiled at Takuya, and the two boys shook hands.

"If you ever need anything at all, Takuya, don't hesitate to ask," Ritchie told Takuya. Takuya smiled wider. "Thanks."

"This is Sora, who you met briefly yesterday. He helps run the training programs," Ryo continued.

Sora smiled and shook Takuya's hand. "Don't worry, we'll get along fine!"

"And this is Chaud," Ryo finished up the introductions. "You probably won't see him much. He works in the programming sector, keeping all of our tech going. He built the Holodecks we'll be using later for training."

Takuya's eyes got very big. Chaud gave a sniff. "It wasn't that big of a deal," he stated dryly. "Don't make a big deal over it."

Takuya was about to say something, when the lights went dark, and an alarm went off. A red light flashed.

"Damn, the alarm," Ryo grumbled. "Breakfast will have to wait…"

Everyone stood in the meeting room ten minutes later, some very tired looking, others very grumpy looking, and others (no names coughKaicough) were both. Takuya looked around, amazed. This small handful of people was keeping this huge building running?

A door opened, and a woman stepped into the room. Takuya gasped. She was tall, with long blue hair, and sharp blue eyes. She was clothed richly in a kimono, which was hanging elegantly on her thin frame. She had fish-like webs on her arms and legs, between her fingers and toes, and feathery gills extended from her throat. She cleared her throat sharply and glared at Takuya.

"Do you have a staring problem, Mr. Kanabara?" she asked sharply.

Takuya looked shocked, then ashamed. "No, ma'am…" he replied, abashed, averting his gaze. Sora stifled his giggles behind his hand.

"Sora," the woman spoke up sharply, looking at the Keyblade holder. Sora shot to attention.

"Yes, Umi-Sama! How can I help you, ma'am?" he asked.

Umi sat on her desk, and Takuya blushed. Umi's kimono fell off her legs, revealing her creamy white skin in a way that made Takuya nervous. It was very sensual, too much so.

"I've had a revelation, Sora," Umi said, speaking as if Sora was the only person in the room. "It occurred to me this morning, in the bath. I mean, I can't be everywhere at one. Byakku knows I try. She references Byakku like 'God'. So read it like 'God knows I try'. But then, I realized, 'Hey, Yuko LOVES this kind of thing!' So I want you to go get her. Now."

Silence followed. Sora cleared his throat. "What?"

Umi looked annoyed. "You heard me. Go. Get. Yuko. NOW." She waved Sora off. "Don't just sit there. GET GOING!"

Kai scowled. "You talk too much."

"Yeah? And you've got an attitude problem, asshole!" Umi shot back.

The door opened again, and Hien came in. He sighed. "Umi, quit mouthin' off."

Umi rolled her eyes. "Oh, boy…"

"Why are you so worked up?" Hien continued. "You're so upset, it's raining out there! And not just a gentle spring rain either!" Hien looked upset. "Stop being angry!"

Umi stuck out her tongue. "Bite me, asswipe!" she snapped, growing more irritated.

Hien visibly restrained himself from smacking Umi. Clearly, this wasn't the first time she'd done this.

The door opened again, and Susanou came in. He ran over to Umi, and began rubbing her arms.

"Oh Umi!" he cooed, trying to comfort her.

Hien rolled his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Susanou asked. "Tell Susanou all about it!"

Umi pouted. "I want Yuko, and no one will get her for me! I want Yuko!"

Susanou looked at Umi seriously. "Why do you want Yuko, Umi-chan?"

"BECAUSE! She's Yuko!" Umi began to hold her breath.

Susanou looked at Hien. "Yuko may be a help here."

Hien looked enraged. "You're just going to give in to her? Man, you are whipped!"

Susanou's eyes flashed. "I just feel that we'd all win if we brought Yuko here. She IS the Space-Time Witch after all…"

Hien looked at Umi, who was turning blue. He sighed. "All right…"

Umi released her breath. "YAY!" she cheered, leaping up and giving Hien a huge hug. Hien gasped for air. "Let GO!" he gasped, struggling to get free.

Susanou turned to the group as Hien struggled with Umi in the background. "Okay, your new mission is to go to World CLMP 999-46542 and retrieve Yuko. Understood?"

"Yes sir," everyone spoke up.

"Good. Then let's get a move on, people!" Susanou replied.

"I'm going?" Takuya repeated, disbelieving.

"That's right," Ryo said. "Hien gave you the go-ahead. He thinks it's good experience."

"All right!" Takuya celebrated.

"Don't get too happy right away," Ryo warned. "Kai's coming, too."

Takuya sobered. "Awww…"

Ritchie turned in his seat at the Transporter. "All ready to go on your command, sir!" he said.

Sparky, Ritchie's Pikachu, saluted and agreed. "Pika pi!"

Ryo nodded. "Good. Open the gate, and prepare for transport."

Takuya took his place at the gate with Ryo and Kai. Kai gave him a nasty look, but said nothing. Takuya tried not to think about it.

"Energize!" Ryo said. Steph dies laughing. Star Trek joke!

Ritchie nodded, and started the Transporter. Takuya blinked, and everything went white for a moment, then another scene came into focus.

He saw a large building with a high fence. Takuya blinked. "Is this it?"

"Yeah…" Ryo looked as shocked as Takuya. "Wow, for someone with Yuko's reputation, you'd think she lived in something…bigger."

Kai grunted, unimpressed.

Two girls appeared at the gate. They grabbed hold of the three boys, and dragged them all inside.

"Welcome!" one said. "I'm Maru!"

"And I'm Moro!" the other said.

"The Mistress has been expecting you!" the two girls said in unison. They sat the boys down, and brought them tea. "She'll be right with you," they said, again in unison, and left the room.

Takuya looked around. The small dojo was very clean and neat. There were curious objects on the walls, and odd furniture was here and there. He turned at the sound of footsteps outside.

A boy about seventeen was coming inside. He had dark hair and glasses. He was carrying many bags of groceries. The boy stopped when he saw the boys.

"Oh…guests…" he looked flustered. "You must be here to see Yuko. Umm…I'll go get her…"

"Actually," Ryo spoke up, holding his hand out, "Maru and Moro went to get her. Do you need help with those?"

"No! No! I'm fine!" the boy said, embarrassed. "I do this all the time!" He kicked off his shoes, and ran into another room.

A moment later, the boy was back. "Can I get you anything?" he asked.

Takuya looked at his tea. "Maybe some honey. This tea's kinda bitter."

The boy nodded, and ran into the other room again. He came back with honey, which he gave to Takuya and sat down.

"I'm Kimihiro Watanuki," he introduced himself. "I work at this shop."

"I'm Akayami Ryo, this is Kanabara Takuya, and Hiwatari Kai," Ryo introduced everyone to Watanuki. "We're here on business."

Maru and Moro entered the room. "Yuko will be with you momentarily," they said, in unison. They sat down on the floor, and began to play cards.

A moment later, a tall woman with long, dark hair entered the room. She was wearing an extravagant kimono, and was very pale. She smiled knowingly.

"Ahhh…Akayami-san…welcome. I've been expecting you." Yuko sat down with the others.

Takuya looked amazed. "How did you know—?"

"She was probably behind the screen, and heard us when we introduced ourselves," Kai reasoned dryly. "Nothing to be amazed about."

Yuko winked at Kai. "Ahh, yes. The disbeliever."

"We're here because—" Ryo began, but Yuko cut him off.

"Umi wants to see me. Yes, I know. I'll be there. Just let me pack." She turned to Watanuki. "Start packing."

Watanuki looked both shocked and irritated. "What?! Why can't you pack your own things?"

Yuko laughed. "Your things too. You're coming with me."

Watanuki yelled and pulled his hair. "NOOOOOOOO!!" he seemed very agitated. "I have school, and practice, and…and…Himawari-chan!"

Yuko grinned, obviously enjoying Watanuki's pain. "Silly boy! Where we're going, you won't have to worry about that stuff!" She laughed. "Now, go help Maru and Moro pack my things." She shooed him out of the room, and Maru and Moro pulled him along by the sleeves.

Ryo laughed. "You're awfully mean to him, Yuko-san!"

Yuko smiled, wryly. "Yes, well, he needs to learn. Can I get you anything?"

"Actually, if you don't mind," Ryo replied, "We'd like to help Watanuki-kun."

Takuya nodded.

Yuko grinned. "By all means!" she said, waving them in. Ryo and Takuya left the room.

Kai stared at Yuko. Yuko looked back at him. "You want to ask me something, don't you?" she said, finally.

Kai didn't respond, but he lowered his eyes.

Yuko leaned closer to Kai. "You want to know how to reach him…"

Kai's head snapped up. He glared at Yuko. _How did she know…?!_

Yuko smiled. "I can tell you…if you're willing to pay the price for it…"

Kai gritted his teeth. He was silent for a while.

"I'll think about it," he whispered softly.

Watanuki leaned on Yuko's luggage, panting for air. Ryo and Takuya also seemed rather winded.

Yuko kissed Maru and Moro. "Be good, and run the shop while I'm gone," she said. "It won't be for too long."

"Goodbye Mistress! Goodbye Watanuki!" the girls chimed in unison.

Ryo called Ritchie on the communicator. "Ritchie, you got us?"

"Reading everyone loud and clear!" Ritchie replied. "Preparing to transport now!"

Takuya saw everything go white again, and then Ritchie came into focus. They were all back at the AMGDI.

"Welcome back, sirs!" Ritchie said. Ryo smiled and stepped forward.

Umi ran into the room, squealing. "YUKO!!" she squeaked happily, throwing her arms around the equally enthusiastic woman. The two hugged.

"Umi! Good to see you! You've been well, I see!" Yuko stared at Umi, delighted.

Everyone stared at the two women, sweatdrops visible.

Susanou, Hien, and another woman Takuya hadn't seen entered the room. Yuko smiled and waved. "Susanou! Hien! Gaia! Good to see you all!"

Gaia blushed, hiding her eyes. He long brown hair swayed as she moved, and the ivy tendrils in it whispered with every movement.

Susanou turned to Ritchie. "Please escort Yuko-san to her room."

Ritchie nodded, and stood up. Sparky climbed onto Ritchie's shoulder.

"Please, follow me, ma'am," he said to Yuko, ushering her out of the room.

"Come, Watanuki, and bring the bags!" Yuko tosses over her shoulder.

Watanuki's face was one of fury. Ryo patted Watanuki on the shoulder.

"We'll help you. C'mon, Takuya, help me with these." Ryo picked up a couple of bags. Takuya did the same, and the three followed Yuko out of the room.

Kai left the room, and walked slowly to the medical ward. He entered to see Chii attending Rei. Chii looked up, startled, and quickly left the room. Kai sighed. He sat down beside Rei, and stroked Rei's hand. Rei hadn't changed. He was still in a deep sleep, his face tranquil. Kai felt his eyes droop. Too tired to fight sleep, he gave in. He laid his head on Rei's chest and fell asleep, listening to Rei's heartbeat.

Kai snapped awake when Yuko put her hand on Kai's shoulder. He looked up into her face, and she smiled, bemused.

"Did you think about what I said?" she asked gently.

Kai looked at Rei's serene face. Finally, he nodded. "I did," he said tiredly.

"And…?" Yuko prodded gently.

"Alright, tell me," Kai replied, grimly.

Yuko nodded. "In order for me to tell you, you must pay me equal payment."

"How much?" Kai asked.

Yuko shook her head. "This isn't money we're talking about. This is something much more precious to you." She looked at Kai, sadly. "For this information, you must give me ten years of your life."

Kai looked shocked. "What? How--? That's impossible!"

Yuko closed her eyes. "You must give me one of your tail feathers."

Kai stared at Yuko in absolute shock. _How did she…no one knows about…_

Yuko opened one eye. "Let me pick it. I can see which one is the right one."

Kai stood up. "I don't know how you found out, but there is no way I'm going to let you yank one of my feathers out! Forget it!" He started to leave.

Yuko held onto his shoulder. "I know this is hard, but you have to trust me. A phoenix's life is in his feathers. You have to let me do this if you want Rei to wake up."

Kai looked at Rei again, tears welling up. Finally, he sighed.

"Alright…turn away, please."

Yuko turned, and Kai unbuckled his pants, and pulled his tail free. He let it fall to the floor, and sighed. Yuko turned around, and smiled.

"Ohhh…this is very beautiful! A fine specimen! I haven't seen a phoenix tail like this in a long time!" Yuko gushed over the soft feathers.

Kai growled. "Just hurry up already!"

Yuko cleared her throat. "Right." She ran her fingers over the tail, until she came to one that was the right length. She seized hold and yanked.

Kai yelped in pain as the feather was pulled out. Yuko smiled, and snuggled her cheek against it.

"Ahh…so soft and warm…you are a pureblood after all." She slipped it into a pocket in her kimono, and turned back to Kai, who had hurriedly tucked his tail back into his pants.

"In order for Rei to awaken, his heart needs to be rebuilt. To do this, his memories must be restored to him. You can help him accomplish this by letting him borrow a piece of your heart." Yuko smirked.

Kai knitted his eyebrows together. "How?"

Yuko smirked farther. "I can fuse your hearts together. As Rei's heart grows back, you'll gain more of your heart back, and Rei will be able to function more under his own power."

Kai thought for a moment. "What would happen…? I mean, wouldn't I feel…?"

Yuko nodded. "You'd feel his pain, and he'd feel yours. If one heart stops beating, they both would." Yuko's face became serious. "You wouldn't be able to leave each other's sides for the first while. You'd need to be very close."

Kai nodded. "I can do that."

Yuko smiled. "You're brave. But you'll need to be. He'll be very weak and child-like for the first while. Remember, most of his memories are gone. He'll be afraid, and clingy. He'll need you to take care of him. He'll need to feel safe and secure."

Kai nodded again.

Yuko became serious again. "Then, let's get on with it." She stepped up beside Rei and placed one hand over his heart. The other hand she placed over Kai's heart. Yuko then closed her eyes, and concentrated.

A bright circle of light appeared, and a wind picked up. Yuko's voice was strong as she chanted.

"_Two hearts, lost in a sea of black, come together as one. Light, guide them to the shore. Binding force, seal the light together. AI DA! Guide them home!"_

Kai felt a searing pain in his heart, and suddenly his head swam. He felt hollow, and weakened, but a comforting spirit enveloped his cold heart, and he calmed. An old feeling he hadn't felt in months came flooding back to him.

"_Oh Rei…"_ Kai felt like crying. _"How long has it been since I've felt this happy?"_

Kai opened his eyes. He was leaning over Rei, panting heavily. Yuko paused at the doorway. "I'll leave you two alone now." She left.

Rei's face had colour. Kai slowly and softly placed his hand on Rei's cheek. It was warm! Kai sucked in his breath. Tears that had welled up in his eyes began to flow down his cheeks. A single tear fell onto Rei's cheek.

Rei's eyes fluttered open. He moaned softly in sleepiness, and blinked a few times to clear his vision. His soft gold eyes seemed misted over and somewhat lost, but Kai could still see Rei's spirit in them, like he had so long ago. Kai began to sob in happiness, and buried his face in Rei's shoulder.

Shocked, Rei stared at this strange boy who was holding him tight and crying. He slowly wrapped his arms around him, rubbing him comfortingly.

"…Don't cry…" he whispered.

Kai's sobs quieted, but he continued to cry freely. He tightened his grip on Rei, glad to be able to hold him again.

"I'll never let you go again, Rei. Never, never, never…" The thought echoed in Kai's head. 

The two boys sat there, holding each other. Rei tried hard to remember this boy. He seemed familiar. A name came to him.

"K…ai…?" The name seemed familiar. The boy tightened his grip even more.

"Yes, Rei, that's right. That's my name. I'm here, and I'm never going to leave. So don't be afraid." Kai's voice was slightly muffled, but Rei heard every word, and suddenly felt like crying.

So the two sat there and just cried, and held each other as if the world was ending.

Takuya and Ryo walked down the hall together. Suddenly Chii dashed past, as if she was afraid. Ryo caught her hand.

"Chii?" he asked, worried. "Are you alright? You look scared to death."

Chii shook her head. "I was…in the medical ward…and Kai entered. I know he doesn't like anyone being around Rei, so I left. But now I don't know what to do…"

Ryo smiled. "I'm sure you can go back in, Chii. I'll be there. If he makes a fuss, I'll talk it over with him."

Takuya made a face. _Kai sure is a pain…_ he thought.

The small group walked back to the medical ward, and Ryo opened the door. He stopped short and gasped.

Takuya and Chii forced their way in, and also gasped.

Kai and Rei looked up. Rei looked rather confused, and then scared. He buried his face in Kai's shoulder, and began to cry like a frightened child. Kai began comforting Rei as he shot the group a dirty look.

Ryo struggled for words. "Kai…? When…? How…?"

"A little while ago," Kai answered. But he avoided the _how_ question.

Takuya stared. Rei was a hansom young man, with his shiny raven hair, soft gold eyes, and creamy skin. The way Kai held Rei told Takuya there was more to Kai and Rei's relationship that just _friendship_.

Chii walked over to Rei, and softly laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. She cooed softly, and Rei's sobs quieted. Kai looked up into Chii's comforting face blankly.

Then Rei made a noise. It was a noise Kai loved, and one he hadn't heard in a long time.

Rei purred.

Kai looked down into Rei's face, and saw he was asleep, curled up safely in Kai's arms. Kai gave a ghost of a smile. Takuya was surprised. Kai seemed less scary when he smiled. He almost seemed…kind.

Kai stiffen a yawn, unsuccessfully. He blinked his bleary eyes, and eased himself and Rei onto the bed. A moment later, both boys were asleep. Chii tucked them both in.

Ryo shook his head. "Well, this is a good thing, I guess."

Takuya was still trying to recover from the shock. He looked at Ryo. "What now?" he asked.

Ryo turned. "Let's go tell the Guardians. They need to know."

"That's WONDERFUL news!" Umi cried. "Rei-chan's awake!"

Susanou nodded. "We have the aid of another Stoneholder. But we mustn't get ahead of ourselves now. By the sounds of it, Rei is weak. He won't be able to work with us for quite a while. He'll need attention."

Hien snorted. "What a hassle…"

Gaia smiled woefully at Hien, then turned back to Ryo and Takuya. "It is indeed a happy day for us all. But it also means Kai will cease his morning. It will be a joy to see him happy again."

Umi nodded. "He has been down lately. It's such a drag…"

Hien gave Umi a noogie. "Quit pickin' on Kai. You got a lot of nerve!"

"Oww! Not the hair!" Umi shrieked.

Susanou sweatdropped. "They do this a lot. Hien can't stand the fact that Umi's got as much say as she does around here, and yet she acts like a total bubblehead sometimes. Plus, Umi thrives on picking on Hien."

Takuya shook his head. For a bunch of Celestial Beings, they acted more like teenagers…

"Have we told you the story of how we all came together yet, Takuya-san?" Gaia asked Takuya. He shook his head.

Gaia nodded at Susanou, and the two began their story.

_Every universe has four elements that tie it together—Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth. A fine balance of the four is what keeps every universe together. We are the ones who make sure that balance stays._

_However, the Darkness is a strong force. It began feeding on the negative feeling of living beings, and before long, it was out of control. The fine balance we kept was threatened. We panicked, and reached out to try to save the worlds in jeopardy. However, we were too late. All we could reach were four soles whose powers were flickering dangerously low. We pulled them to safety, here in between worlds._

_Susanou found Ryo. Ryo was teetering on the edge. He'd been unable to save everyone close to him, and was now despairing so badly that the darkness almost had him. But Susanou would not give up so easily, and pulled him back._

_Gaia found Chaud. Chaud was so convinced that his money and power could solve everything; he'd been unable to save everyone around him. Lost and ready to die, Gaia had pulled him in, and gave him the strength to keep going._

_Hien had found Kai and Rei. Kai was so enraged and horrified over getting Rei hurt, he had almost committed self-destruction. Hien had pulled the two to safety, and held Kai until his sanity had returned._

_Umi had found Sora. Sora had been the first one to lose everything at the hands of the Darkness. He had fought hard, but not even his best efforts had saved his home and friends. Umi had taken him in as Sora had tumbled into the dark waters that swept him into the nothingness._

_The five refugees had come to the conclusion that they would fight back. They set up the AMGDI, building it from the ground up. The Guardians had helped where they could. They wouldn't admit it, but they needed the refugees as much as they needed them. With every world destroyed, their powers waned farther and farther._

Susanou held up a file. "Look at this. I just got it this morning."

Everyone looked at the sheets inside. They described, in detail, a couple of teenagers. One was a girl by the name of Kaname Chidori. The other was a boy by the name of Sosuke Sangara.

"I have reason to believe that Kaname is one of the Seraphims," Susanou concluded. "Her power levels are far above normal levels. I think that you should go and bring her in. Better to be safe than sorry."

Ryo nodded in agreement. "Yes sir, we'll go immediately."

Takuya looked at Ryo. "I can't remember. Did you explain what the Seraphim are again? "

Ryo smiled. "No, I don't think so. There are three girls out there, on three different worlds, with exponential powers. When they're brought together with the Stoneholders, a miracle is said to happen."

Kai walked in at that moment. "Hien, I need to say something to you."

"What?" Hien asked.

"I can't go anywhere for a while. Rei needs me. I have to stay with him." Kai looked firm.

Hien was shocked. But he nodded, and sighed. "Alright, then. Gaia, Chaud will have to take Kai's place. Inform him, please."

Gaia nodded. She stood up, and prepared to leave. As she passed Kai, she paused, and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I am proud that you are being so strong, Kai. I am happy for you." Gaia left.

Chaud didn't look too happy to be going on a mission. And, as far as Takuya was concerned, he was just as bad as Kai. He was moody, quiet, and sullen. It gave Takuya the willies.

Kai stood at the doorway to the room, Rei leaning heavily on his arm, tired and quiet. But he was smiling, and even Kai was happier than usual.

"Don't get killed," Kai said.

"…Good luck…" Rei added, his voice quiet and tired.

Ryo and Takuya nodded. Chaud snorted.

Ritchie fired up the transporter, and the three boys were gone.

Kaname ran down the road, looking at her watch, chewing a piece of toast.

She was late.

Damn Sosuke. This was all his fault.

Kaname skidded around the corner, and ran smack-dab into someone. Landing on her butt, Kaname immediately began apologizing.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I'm late—"

She looked up and saw Sosuke.

"SOSUKE!" Kaname screamed, leaping to her feet.

"Ma'am!" Sosuke replied, leaping up as well.

"What the hell are you doing?! I'm late for school! I don't have time for this!" Kaname picked up her book bag and kicked her toast. Too bad, but she couldn't eat it now.

Sosuke nodded. "I'm aware that you're late. That's why I've prepared a shortcut for you. It is guaranteed to get you to school in adequate time."

Kaname arched her eyebrow. "What? No, Sosuke. I don't have time. Every time I take a shortcut, I get into trouble. Not this time."

Sosuke stopped Kaname and held up a detonator. He pushed the button, and suddenly a hole was blasted into the wall. Kaname looked through the hole, and saw a row of holes, through more walls, that reached all the way to the school. She twitched.

"See? The perfect shortcut," Sosuke stated.

Kaname was preparing to cream Sosuke when, all of a sudden, Ryo and the others landed on them

"RITCHIE!!" Ryo screamed into his communicator angrily. "What the fuck was that?!"

"Uhh…sorry sir…" Ritchie replied, weakly. "I, uhh, might have forgot to reset the altitude meter after the last tune-up I made…"

Ryo growled angrily, but got up, and got Takuya and Chaud off of Sosuke and Kaname.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am," Ryo said to Kaname, brushing her off. "Are you alright?"

Kaname scowled. "I'm fine. Where the hell did you come from?"

Ryo pointed straight up.

Kaname went pale, and her eye twitched. "Did you fall…from the sky?"

Ryo chuckled. "Sort of."

Takuya grabbed Ryo by the ear. "C'mere, Ryo. Let's talk…"

"Oww, oww, oww! Not the ear!" Ryo squealed, as Takuya dragged him off.

"We're not here to flirt!" Takuya scolded.

"I'm not!" Ryo responded.

Chaud looked at Sosuke and Kaname seriously. "You're going to have to come with us."

The two looked at Chaud. "Huh?" They looked shocked and nervous.

Takuya slapped his head. Ryo sighed and shook his head. "Nice…"

Chaud turned to Sosuke. "I have orders to escort the two of you to a safer location. Do you understand, soldier?"

Sosuke stiffened, and saluted. "Yes, sir. Perfectly clear!"

Kaname smacked Sosuke with a paper fan. "What are you doing, you idiot?! He's not a soldier!!"

Chaud was about to respond, but at that moment, a blast of fire came from nowhere, and barely missed the group, who had dodged just in time. Turning, Chaud saw the boy with the platinum hair.

"Rikku!" Ryo yelled. "I should've known you'd be here!"

Rikku smiled, and laid his Keyblade onto his shoulder. "Hmph. Honestly, when will you realize that you can't win? Just give up now, and save yourself the trouble."

Takuya pulled out his D-Tector, and his eyes burned. "We have some unfinished business." His Fractal Code flashed on.

"Ritchie," Ryo spoke into his communicator, never taking his eyes off of Rikku, "It's about to get ugly here. Send Cyberdramon."

"Gotcha, sir," Ritchie responded. A moment later, Cyberdramon materialized in front of Ryo. Ryo pulled out his D-Scan. "Okay, Cyberdramon, let's rock."

Cyberdramon grunted in response.

Takuya scanned his code.

EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION! AGUNIMON!! 

The Warrior of Fire stood tall, flame dispersing from around him.

Chaud pulled out his PET. "Protoman, shall we?"

"Ready, sir," Protoman responded.

Chaud pressed a button on his communicator, and suddenly a field materialized around him. He pulled out a Fusion chip.

FUSION! PROTOMAN OVERSOUL! 

Chaud suddenly re-appeared, now in Protoman Fusion Mode. He uploaded a Fighter Sword.

Rikku chuckled as he looked at the small army in front of him. "Sad, really…" he mocked. The ends of his bandana fluttered in the wind. "Even blindfolded, I can beat you all…"

Kaname and Sosuke stared, amazed. "Who…what are you guys?" Kaname asked.

Ryo turned his head. "We're the good guys, ma'am. And we're here to protect you."

Rikku unleashed another Fire attack, but Agunimon punched, and the flames dispersed around his fist. He then released his own attack.

_BURNING SALAMANDER!!_ The fire blast caught Rikku off guard, and he fell to the ground, his clothes singed.

Chaud appeared in front of Rikku, and slashed. Rikku blocked the attack with his Keyblade, and threw the sword off. He slashed at Chaud, and Chaud dashed backwards. Chaud attacked again, and Rikku deflected it.

"Cyberdramon! Attack now!" Ryo commanded. Cyberdramon obeyed, and slashed at Rikku. Rikku dodged the attack, and Cyberdramon unleashed his attack.

DESOLATION CLAW!! 

Rikku dodged as many of the projectiles as he could, but one clipped his leg, and he stifled a cry. He fell to the ground.

Chaud appeared over Rikku, his sword pointed at Rikku's throat. Rikku growled.

"It's over, Rikku," Ryo spoke up. "Just surrender, and make it easier."

"It's never over!" Rikku yelled, and with blinding speed, he knocked Chaud away, and went for Kaname, blade drawn. Kaname gasped.

However, Sosuke was fast as well. He stood in Rikku's way, and caught the blade with his hands. The blood flowed freely over the blade, and Sosuke's eyes blazed.

"I can't allow you to hurt Miss Chidori," he spoke, his voice low and dangerous.

Rikku gritted his teeth. "Oh really?"

Sosuke threw Rikku backwards, and drew his gun. He aimed, and shot. Rikku felt the bullet enter his shoulder. He cried out in pain.

"That was a real bullet!!" Kaname screamed. "Sosuke!"

"It's a gun I keep for emergencies only, Miss Chidori," he said calmly.

Rikku stood, panting. He clutched his bleeding shoulder, and growled. "This isn't over," he spat as he vanished.

Sosuke trained his gun on the spot where Rikku had been standing for a few more moments after Rikku had vanished. Then, suddenly, he collapsed.

Kaname ran to his side, and rolled him over. Sosuke was bleeding heavily from his hands, as well as a gash in his side.

"You idiot!" Kaname began, suddenly realizing she was crying. "You…got hurt…protecting me…"

"Part of the job…Kaname…" Sosuke replied.

Takuya and Chaud returned to normal, and Ryo dashed to Sosuke's side.

"It's not life-threatening, but he needs attention," he stated. He spoke into his communicator. "Ritchie, get us out of here. And get Chii. We have a medical emergency."

"Yes sir!" Ritchie replied.

Kaname sat on the chair beside Sosuke's bed later that day, and sighed. Sosuke's hands and side were heavily bandaged, and he was now sleeping. She absently swept a strand of hair out of his face and rubbed her blurry eyes.

Takuya entered the room, and laid a hand on Kaname's shoulder.

"You should sleep…" Takuya sounded concerned.

Kaname shook her head. "No, I feel guilty. He was…just protecting me…idiot…"

Takuya smiled weakly. "I think it's more than that…"

Kaname's head snapped up, and she blushed crimson. "Wha—? NO! It's not like that at all! I— he just—"

Takuya backed up, hands up in defence. "Wait, no! I didn't mean it like that!"

Kaname looked down. "I knew that…it's just that I…" She began to cry.

Sosuke bolted upright in bed. He looked around, and then looked at Kaname. He gathered her in his arms, and rubbed her back.

Kaname sobbed into his chest. "Baka…baka…baka…"

Takuya looked on and smiled. He knew the two were going to be fine.

Susanou sighed wearily. "All her tests came back negative."

Umi's face was hard. "Still, we didn't expect to find one right off the bat, now did we?"

Susanou shook his head. "Still, where'd the information come from?"

Umi looked absently into space. "Perhaps there's a connection to that, and why Rikku was there. Perhaps it was more than just coincidence."

Susanou's face became worried. "I came into my office this morning and it was laying on my desk. Could it be…that it was planted?"

"Or…" Umi added. "Maybe someone is trying to _help_ us…"

"Either way," Susanou finished. "I think we need to be more cautious…"

(End of chapter 2.)

NEXT CHAPTER: Yuko has an idea, and it ultimately leads to another Stoneholder! Meanwhile, Ritchie has an accident, and it leaves the team crippled! Without a way to get around, will the team be able to stop Rikku and the SoulHunters before they destroy another world? And just where are the Seraphim? And when more information surfaces, questions arise to its origins. Is someone from the SoulHunters trying to help them? And why?


	3. Chapter 3 Leaf It to Me

**United**

**By Steph O'Dell**

Based on the fanfiction "United We Stand" by Anime Master Zero Chapter 3: Leaf It to Me… 

Kai stared glumly into his porridge, his chin propped up on one hand. He lifted his spoon, and let the goop drip slowly off and fall back into the bowl. He grimaced.

"This porridge has the consistency of Tasty Wheat," Ryo grumbled unhappily, echoing Kai's thoughts.

Rei snored gently. He sat, leaning on Kai's shoulder, deep asleep. Kai smiled ruefully, although the smile was so faint, one wouldn't have noticed it even if they'd been looking for it.

"Ever wonder why Tasty Wheat doesn't taste like anything?" Ritchie piped up, suddenly.

Everyone groaned. "Here we go again…" Ryo grumbled.

"It's because the Manufacturers couldn't decide what to make it taste like. So they made it taste like cardboard." He smiled. "That's kind of why everything tastes like chicken."

Takuya stared, wide-eyed, at Ritchie. "Really?" he asked.

Ryo and Kai exchanged glances. They knew what was coming. Ritchie pulled this spiel with every newbie. He'd even pulled it on them.

"Yeup. You see, when the Higher Beings were trying to decide what things should taste like, they got bored. Finding new tastes for everything was hard. And they loved chicken so much, they made everything taste like it." Ritchie finished up with a smirk.

Takuya stared. "Wow! That's cool!"

Ryo and Kai stifled laughs. Takuya had fallen for it--hook, line and sinker.

Rei stirred, and sat up, looking very groggy. He moaned in sleepiness, blinking and smacking his lips. He rubbed his eyes with his finger, and yawned. Kai stared at Rei's sharp incisor teeth and felt a shiver.

G-od…I miss those teeth… 

"Good morning, Rei-chan," Ryo said, smiling. "And how did you sleep?"

Rei smiled sleepily. "…Well, thank you…"

Takuya noted that Rei's voice, even though it was still quiet and tired, was growing stronger. It seemed every passing day made him stronger.

Kai, meanwhile, seemed to grow more and more tired. He was paler than usual, and dark rings floated under his eyes. His appetite had decreased, and his hair had lost its sheen.

Takuya would have asked if something was wrong, but he was sure Kai would give him the typical response of, "Get lost, you little pest," and shoot him a dirty look. So he didn't try.

Rei stood up shakily. Kai instinctively leapt up, and supported Rei. He looked concerned, but Rei just smiled at Kai weakly.

"…I just…wanted to go lie down for a little while…that's all…Kai…" Rei said. Kai relaxed.

"I'll help you to your room," he insisted, his grip more firm on Rei's slender arm. Rei stared at Kai's hand, then back into Kai's face and smiled.

"…Okay…" He allowed himself to be led away by Kai.

Ryo watched them leave, smirking. He knew something the others didn't.

Rei sat down heavily on the bed, sighing tiredly. Kai turned the light off.

He and Rei were sharing a room (at Kai's request, of course), and now Kai stared at the wall as Rei slipped out of his clothes, and into his sleepwear. He smoothed the cool mint-colored clothes, and sighed.

Kai glanced over his shoulder at Rei. Rei yawned sleepily, and pulled his hair wrap off. He then gathered his ponytail up in his red hair ribbon, and tied it with a small knot. Kai shivered again, at the sight of Rei's flowing ebony tresses.

Like black silk…God, I love running my hands through that… 

Kai walked over to Rei, and sat beside the boy on the bed. He slid his hand up Rei's cheek, and gently rubbed the milky skin behind Rei's pointed ear.

Rei was surprised, at first. Then he sighed happily, and laid his head on Kai's lap.

_And purred._

Kai felt another shiver up his spine. He'd done this so long ago, and it drove him crazy, knowing he couldn't have his koibito yet. He smelled Rei's hair, and the jasmine shampoo he used. Kai felt a tightening in his stomach.

Rei yawned again, but suddenly gave a yelp of pain. One of his eyeteeth had pierced his lip, and he was bleeding.

Kai lifted Rei's face, worried. Rei whimpered in pain, and Kai cooed soothingly. But then, the blood began to run down Rei's lip.

Kai stared in shock. _The sharp teeth…the blood…the lips…those…LIPS…_ Kai's eyes rolled to the back of his head as erotic memories flashed through his lust-crazed mind. Memories of Rei's resisting. Rei growling savagely. The sweet and sour sauce. Those lips.

That…BLOOD…

Kai couldn't hold himself back any longer. It was too much. He longed for a taste of that blood again…it forced him to thrust his lips vigorously against Rei's.

Rei felt the force on his lips, and he liked the feeling. He seemed to recall a feeling like it, one that he felt he'd felt a looong time ago…

A pain in his chest made him squirm uncomfortably, and then the memory came flooding back. The restaurant. The sweet and sour sauce. The sex…

_Kai made love to me! _he realized. He moaned happily, and his eyes fluttered open.

Kai released Rei from the kiss, licking the blood off his and Rei's lips. "Feel better, Rei-chan?" he whispered.

Rei rolled his eyes back in his head and moaned blissfully. "…Oh Kai…oh…"

Kai smiled, and prepared to kiss Rei again. But at that moment, he felt his strength give way, and he fell onto his koibito, totally exhausted. Rei yelped in surprise. He stared at Kai, and poked him nervously.

"…Kai?" he asked, tentatively.

Kai snored gently. Rei smiled.

Rei settled into bed, pulling Kai in beside him. He pulled the covers over them, and curled up to Kai's chest. Purring softly, Rei fell asleep.

Yuko dashed through the halls of the AMGDI later that afternoon. She seemed rushed, and people leapt to get out of her way.

Watanuki dashed behind her, trying to keep up. He had armfuls of scrolls and other pieces of writing. Mokona perched on his shoulder, chirping excitedly.

"Hurry! Hurry!" it chirped. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Shut up!" Watanuki blasted back. "I don't need you telling me what to do!"

"Watanuki!" Yuko yelled at him over her shoulder. "Hurry up! I need to see Umi right away, so I can't have you dawdling!" She turned and continued down the hallway.

Watanuki groaned, and ran after his employer.

Umi arched an eyebrow, interested. "Is that so?"

Yuko nodded, excitedly. "You see, the idea came to me in the bath. All my best ideas seem to come to me in the bath."

Umi smiled. "Me too!"

Yuko squealed in delight. "Anyway, I thought it would help everyone if we did that."

Umi nodded. "I see no reason the others wouldn't think so as well."

"Think what?" a gruff voice spoke up from behind Umi. She turned to see Hien standing there.

"Oh, Hien…Yuko was just discussing an idea with me. She feels it would be a good idea if some clients of hers come here until this whole issue with the SoulHunters is resolved." Umi flicked her hair, and smirked.

Hien wrinkled his nose and gave a lopsided frown. "I don't know…Every time one of you gets a brilliant idea, I end up getting into trouble…" He crossed his arms. "Remember the incident on Terra Prime?"

Umi avoided his gaze nervously. "I didn't think the lava would harden that fast, or quite so violently! Don't blame me! It wasn't all my fault!"

Hien got very upset. "Oh, so what? It's my fault?" He put his hands on his hips, and got in Umi's face. "Don't even try that!"

Umi pushed back. "Screw you! I'm not scared of you! Yes, it's your fault! You're the one who made the shoddy lava in the first place!"

The two went nose-to-nose, growling and hissing. Mokona jumped in between the two.

"No fighting now! We're all friends here!" it chirped happily, giggling and bouncing up and down. "Friends don't fight!"

"Friends with her? Yeah, right!" Hien turned his nose up, and turned away.

Umi did the same. "As if! I'd never be friends with him!" She huffed angrily.

Watanuki sighed, and shifted under the mound of scrolls. "Why exactly did you ask me to bring these if you're not going to use them?" he asked his employer.

Yuko giggled. "You needed the exercise!"

Watanuki shot to his feet. "WHY YOU--!!" he exploded. Yuko raised her hands, defensively, laughing even harder.

"Relax, Watanuki! I was kidding! I need these to try and pinpoint Syaoran-kun's exact location!" Yuko explained.

Yuko took one of the scrolls, and spread it out on the table, revealing a map of one of the many worlds. Umi pulled out a pendant from the folds of her kimono, and held it over the map. At first, there was no movement from either Umi or the pendant. Then, the pendant began to move in a slow circle. Umi sighed.

"Not this one," she said. Yuko replaced the map with another, and the process repeated itself.

"Why don't you just use Mokona to contact him?" Watanuki asked sensibly.

Yuko shook her head. "Contact doesn't work like that. And besides, even if I did, they wouldn't be able to tell me which world they're on for sure."

Watanuki sighed. "We're going to be here for a while, aren't we?"

Kai slowly pried his heavy eyelids open, and groaned. He sat up slowly, realizing where he was. He looked down, and saw Rei clinging to his shirt, sound asleep. Kai smiled wistfully, and gently pried Rei's hands off his top. He rolled out of bed, stretched and yawned. A good sleep had been just what he needed.

He turned back to Rei and the bed. Kai was actually half-tempted just to jump back into bed, and say "screw it' to his duties. But then, what kind of example was he setting then? Plus, Rei would get mad, and the others might get suspicious, and figure it out. He shuttered.

_Man, my life sucks. I have a perfectly good opportunity to play hooky, and everything's against me,_ he thought. _I have to baby-sit a bunch of little brats. Great._

He licked his lips, and sighed. He still tasted Rei's sweet blood. If there was one thing Rei did to Kai, it was bring out the animal in him. Rei was just so…_wild_…and untamed…unlike neat and tidy Takao. Takao had had a rhythm. Rei had a pulse. A pulse that changed like a heartbeat, getting faster as he got more excited. Kai sighed.

_Okay, no more dirty thoughts…_Kai told himself. _You have to go baby-sit the idiots now, so be professional._

Kai cast one last longing look over his shoulder at Rei, and sighed happily. At least he still had Rei. That's more than most of the refugees could say.

The door opened with a hiss, and Kai stepped out into the hallway. It was time to go to work.

A job… 

Rei felt it again; that pain in his chest. This time it was stronger, and lasted longer. He gasped in his sleep.

A job… 

The echo grew louder. Had Rei had a job once?

The more he tried to remember, the more it hurt. But he couldn't stop the thought process. The memory started clicking along like a freight train.

Wasn't it Hong Kong, Rei? 

Rei looked around for the voice. It was dark, and cold. He was alone, with nothing to protect him, not even his pyjamas. He was naked. He shivered, and huddled under his hair. Where was he?

_This is your heart, Rei._

"…My…heart?" Rei's voice seemed hollow, and echoed loudly in the cold, empty space.

_Yes…_the voice answered._ Think, Rei…you had a job once…_

Rei clutched his chest. The pain was intense.

"Ahh…!" Rei's eyes flew open. He remembered.

_It had been a small room. A group of boys had sat around a table. He had been serving them tea and food. They had all been talking loudly, and laughing. An older gentleman had been telling them something…something about a tournament…Rei had been listening._

"_The Hong Kong Tournament will be quite a challenge for all of you," the man had said. "There are a lot of good bladers here."_

"_We can take 'em!" a brash young brunette had said. _

"_That's telling them!" a freckled blond had replied, excitedly, toasting the brunette. The two had laughed._

"_Cut that out," a younger Kai had said curtly from the other end of the table. Rei was surprised, but in the memory, he had been unfazed. Did Kai know these people?_

"_Kai, they're only having a little fun," the gentleman had said. "You'd do well to have a little fun yourself."_

_Kai had snorted, and stood up. "Yeah, well, if you'll all excuse me, I'm off to practice. Alone." And with that, Kai had left._

_The gentleman had watched him leave with worry. The blond had called after Kai._

"_Kai! Wait! Come back!" He had looked sad._

"_, you can't just let him leave!" the brunette had said to the older gentleman. The man had sighed._

"_I'm sorry, that's his choice. However, he will in time learn that people, like rice balls, are better in groups." He had demonstrated with the rice balls on his plate, making groups and then breaking the groups up to prove his point._

_The brunette had sighed, and sat back in his chair. "Still…hey, have you seen Rei around? I haven't seen him since the preliminaries."_

_The blond had blinked, surprised. "Yeah, me neither!"_

_Rei had laughed. ", you need to pay more attention to your waiter!"_

_Both boys had looked up, surprised. "REI!" they had yelped. The gentleman had laughed._

"_Rei's been serving you all night!" The man had laughed a little more. The brunette had blushed._

"_Yeah, pay attention. Sheesh, I hope you pay more attention during the tournament, or you're in big trouble!" Rei had laughed. "You'd better leave me a big tip!"_

Rei clutched his head. "Why can't I remember their names? I seem to know them? …"

_Try harder…_ the voice replied.

Rei felt a horrendous pain in his heart. "OWW!" he screamed in pain. "Make it stop!" He started crying. "It hurts!"

_Try HARDER…_the voice insisted.

Kai turned a corner, and was surprised to see Yuko standing in the Commons Room, dressed to the hilt in a fancy kimono, and focusing very hard. The room was silent. He stood still, and waited.

It came to his attention, suddenly, that there was a twinge of pain in his chest. He grimaced. _There it goes again…it did that when I kissed Rei…_

Yuko started to glow. A wind picked up, and a bright circle appeared underneath her. She chanted loudly; _Wanderers across time-space, come home. Follow the trail of light! SPIRITS! RELEASE!_

Mokona opened its mouth wide, and with a burst of smoke, a group of people spilled out and onto the floor in a large dog-pile.

Yuko jumped up and down, holding Mokona's little arms. "Yay! It worked! Hurray!"

The pain in Kai's chest grew in intensity. He tried to ignore it.

The dog-pile untangled itself, revealing four travelers…and another Mokona. Kai's eye twitched. _Not ANOTHER one. One was hard enough to deal with…_

Yuko was introducing the travelers to the AMGDI members. "…And this is Fai, and this is Kurogane, and THIS is Syaoran, and THIS is Sakura! Oh!" Yuko held up the white Mokona. "This is Mokona!"

"Mokona Modoka, at your service!" it chirped, bowing.

Sakura shyly peeked out around Syaoran. Syaoran smiled wryly. He seemed tired, and worn out. Kai felt something, possibly pity; he was in the same boat as Syaoran, it seemed. Yes, probably pity.

_Or…it could be this NASTY heartburn! _ he thought, annoyed.

As if to retaliate, the pain got worse. Kai tried hard not to keel over. It was so intense! …Kai could barely stand. He winced.

Ryo shot Kai a concerned look. Kai was about to mouth 'it's nothing', when the pain got to be too much. The intensity tripled, and he cried out in pain as he toppled to the floor, clutching his chest.

"Kai!" Ryo cried, concerned. He dashed to catch Kai.

Yuko turned as well, and her face was hard. "So…it's begun, has it?" she whispered.

Kai writhed in Ryo's arms, gasping. He couldn't make the pain stop.

Everyone tried to help. Yuko pushed through the crowd, and cradled Kai protectively. She bent over him, and placed her hand over his chest.

Rei clutched his head, desperately. "STOP! I don't want to remember! It hurts to remember!"

Rei looked up, and through tear-stained eyes, he saw a distant figure. He gasped.

"KAI!" he cried, reaching out for him.

But the figure turned, and began to walk away. Rei panicked.

"KAI! COME BACK!" Rei screamed, sobbing. "I'm so scared!"

The figure never even looked back. Rei sobbed, and buried his face in his hands.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him, comforting him, calming him.

"Rei," a familiar voice said. "I'm here."

"Kai!" Rei gasped happily, turning to hug Kai back. Kai's spirit smiled a little.

The two spirits sat, wrapped in each other. Slowly, oh so slowly, their heartbeats returned to normal. The pain eased.

Yuko lifted her hand from Kai's chest. "He'll be okay now," she stated.

Ryo looked scared and bewildered. "What happened?" he asked.

Yuko shook her head. "I can't say."

Ryo looked upset. "You don't know, or you won't say!"

Yuko looked at Ryo coolly. "I realize he's your friend, but I can't say. That's all I can tell you. Yelling won't help."

Ryo balked. He apologized to Yuko, and stood up. He busied himself with showing Syaoran and the others around.

Kai moaned, and woke up. He stood up shakily, but refused everyone's attempts to help him, even when Chii insisted she examine him to see if he was all right.

"I'm fine," he snapped at the Persicom. "Now everyone just leave me alone!"

A sound at the door attracted everyone's attention. Everyone turned to see Rei standing in the door, panting heavily. He was clinging to the doorframe to hold himself up, and his pyjamas stuck to his wet skin. His tear-stained face was one of fear. He stumbled over to Kai, who caught him, and held him close.

"It…it hurt, Kai…I tried…" Rei's voice was muffled, his face buried in Kai's shoulder. Kai cooed, and smoothed Rei's hair.

"It's okay…don't cry, I'm here." Kai kissed Rei's hair gently. "I'll always be here."

Syaoran stared at Kai and Rei, understanding. He subconsciously pulled Sakura a bit closer to him. Sakura was surprised, but she smiled happily, and leaned against his shoulder.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the complex. Everyone shrieked, and ducked, trying to find someplace safe. Luckily, it was a quick tremor, as if something large had exploded. Ryo looked around; there didn't seem to be any structural damage.

Ryo ran down the hall to try to find the cause of the explosion, with Kai, carrying Rei on his back, in close pursuit. The three boys came to the Transporter Room, and found Ritchie, up against the opposite wall of the hall across from the door, upside down, embedded in the wall. Sparky looked a little dizzy itself.

Ryo pried Ritchie out of the wall. "Ritchie! What happened?" he asked, concerned. Kai tried to see past the smoke coming from the Transporter Room.

Ritchie shook his head, trying to clear it. "Uhh…I'm not sure, sir. One moment, I was doing a test of the systems, which was going just fine, and the next, I'm out here."

A loud, angry scream echoed out from the Transporter Room, and Ryo winced. Ritchie looked afraid, and Sparky ducked behind Ritchie. Ryo pulled Ritchie into the room, and stopped short.

The transporter was a smoking mass of twisted metal and singed wires.

"You…BLEW UP…the transporter?!" Kai blasted angrily at Ritchie. Ritchie stared in total shock.

"Oh…my god…I…didn't mean…! I mean, it wasn't…!" Ritchie started to back up. Kai's eyes blazed. Kai put Rei down quickly, and grabbed Ritchie by the neck.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT!!" Kai screamed. "HOW COULD YOU?!" He throttled the young trainer with all of his strength. "Do you REALIZE what you've DONE?!"

"Kai, stop!" Ryo yelled. Both he and Rei pried Kai off of Ritchie, who retreated, gasping for air. Kai struggled to break free. "LET ME GO! Let me AT 'IM!"

"Kai, we can fix the transporter easily. We can't fix a broken transporter operator quite as easily! So back off!" Ryo tried to calm the enraged 'blader. "It was an accident!" Ryo turned to Ritchie. "What were you doing when this happened?"

Ritchie squirmed. "Well, uhh, you see…I was trying to fix the issue with the power levels…we don't have enough power to transport large numbers of people at a time, or large items. So I felt that by adding more power, I could expand the transporters capture net by 81. I was testing my theory, and it seemed to be working fine. But then, without warning—" he emphasised with his hands. "—Boom."

"YOU FUCKED WITH MY TRANSPORTER!" Kai hollered. He lunged at Ritchie again, but Ryo held fast.

"Who fucked with what?" a voice asked. Everyone turned to see Chaud. And he wasn't happy.

"Ritchie fucked with the transporter," Kai explained. "And now—" He waved at the transporter…or what was left of it.

Chaud's face went through many changes, all at once—from shock to glazed-over eyes to I'm-going-to-kill-someone. He lunged at Ritchie.

"WHY YOU –" Chaud yelled angrily, but Ryo held him back. Ritchie cowered.

Hien dashed into the room, and cringed when he saw the damage. "God, what happened? No, don't tell me – I don't want to know!" He clenched his eyes shut. "Just…FIX IT!" Hien started to sob. "Oh God, why me? Why NOW?!" He turned, and staggered out of the room, totally defeated.

While Ritchie was trying to get away from the very upset technicians after him, Ryo was inspecting the transporter. The damage wasn't bad, but the electrical was fried. But as he lifted some wire aside, he noticed something—a small, clean cut in a major wire. Not enough to sever it, but enough to damage it. He sucked in his breath.

The transporter had been sabotaged… 

"Chaud! Come look at this!" Ryo called. Chaud grumbled irritably, but came over to the transporter.

"What?" he asked.

"Take a look at this," Ryo responded, showing him the cut wire.

Chaud examined the cut. "This was no accident…this cut was made with a clean, sharp-edged weapon…most likely a small one, like a knife…" His eyes glazed and grew hard. "Someone's going to die now. NO one, and I do mean NO ONE, messes with MY transporter."

"I'll report this…" Ryo said, turning to leave. "Will you be needing help?"

Chaud snorted. "No. This is my baby, and I'LL fix her. Alone."

Ryo held up his hands, submitting. "Alright then…"

Umi turned the wire over in her hands, clucking her tongue.

"Who…would DO this?" Susanou asked, falling back in his chair, defeated.

Ryo shook his head. "I don't know, sir. Thankfully, no one was hurt."

Hien rocked back and forth on his desk, his head in his hands. "Ohh…but my TRANSPORTER…" He sobbed.

Gaia looked at Hien, both confused and reproachfully. "Why does every boy around here refer to the transporter as THEIR transporter?"

Umi snorted. "Men are dicks…as a GENERAL rule." She looked up. "This was cut by a shuriken," she announced, firmly.

Susanou was confused. "A sharp, metal, star-shaped ninja weapon that originated in the far east?"

Umi looked annoyed. "You sound like Sifl and Ollie's teacher! Yes! A shuriken!" She sighed. "Obviously, a ninja cut this."

"There ARE no ninjas around here," Susanou replied. "Well, unless you count Kurogane, but he just showed up."

Umi rolled her eyes. "Nitwit! This OBVIOUSLY has to do with the information you keep getting on your desk! There is a ninja SPY among us, hiding in our air ducts! Sneaking through our halls! Hiding under our beds!" She buried her head in her arms. "And I have a feeling I KNOW who it is!" She groaned.

"Speaking of which…" Susanou said, oblivious of the last part of Umi's rant. "I got this just this morning!" He opened up the folder in his hands. In it was full data on Syaoran and his group. "See? Obviously someone's a little slow. We already HAVE Syaoran here!"

Umi looked up slowly, glaring. "More like someone WE know is slow…you said you got this just this morning?"

"Yes," Susanou answered, not seeing where the questioning was going.

Umi hit Susanou. "Dummy! Yuko didn't have her idea until AFTERNOON! Someone isn't BEHIND us! Someone's AHEAD of us!"

Susanou clued in suddenly. "Ohh…OHHH…OH! OH MY GOD!" He dropped the folder on the floor. "You are so right! There IS someone who's one step ahead of us!"

Umi stood up, and glared at Ryo. "I want a FULL sweep of the complex. Leave no duct unchecked, no rock unturned. Our li'l ninja friend is still here, and I intend to find him!"

Ryo saluted. "Yes ma'am!" He quickly exited.

Unfortunately for Umi and the others, their "li'l ninja friend" HAD actually left the complex via his own handheld transporter. The ninja stepped into a dark complex in the Negative Zone, chuckling softly.

A familiar figure intercepted the ninja, who stopped short.

"Back? So soon?" Rikku asked coolly.

The ninja snorted. "It was a breeze. I don't know why you and the others have so much trouble; their security is so lax."

Rikku shot the ninja an annoyed look. "Don't get cocky. Anyway, we're moving out. With their transporter down, they won't be able to intercept us on this next task."

Rikku turned to leave, and the ninja grabbed the boy's arm.

"Don't get cocky yourself. They'll have that transporter running again, just you wait. They're not stupid, you know." The ninja's eyes sparkled coyly.

Rikku's brows furrowed over his bandana. "Know your place, you!" He yanked his arm free.

A soft chuckle from the shadows attracted both figures' attention. A tall form, partially shrouded by the shadows, appeared. Both figures bowed respectfully.

"Lord Reficul," Rikku said. "Everything is in order."

"Excellent," Reficul chortled. "Mobilize the SoulHunters immediately. I want this world to be a complete conquest. Leave no Heart Crystal ungathered." He waved them off with his hand. "Go, now." Both bowed again, and turned to leave, but Reficul held Rikku back.

"That one…I don't trust him. Watch that one closely for me," he murmured in the boy's ear. Rikku nodded, obediently.

Rikku left, and Reficul chuckled again. "Controlling these fools is so easy," he commented to the figure behind him. The figure with flowing platinum hair nodded.

Reficul turned. "Soon…I promise your turn will be soon. Until then, I need more information. The other Stones must be close. Have you sensed any nearby?"

The figure shook their head 'No'. Reficul nodded, satisfied. "Keep me informed."

The figure nodded again, then bowed. As they turn to leave, their sword, Murasame, glinted in the low light, eager for the opportunity to draw blood once again.

Chaud soldered like crazy, trying desperately to fix the damage the explosion had caused. Nearly ten minutes ago, Ritchie had informed everyone that the SoulHunters were moving out, and this had thrown everyone into a panic. Despite Chaud's complaints, Kai had started working on the transporter, and now, they were almost done.

Ryo looked over Ritchie's shoulder. "Where is this hit, exactly?" he asked.

Ritchie pointed it out on the screen. "Right here, sir; Quadrant 004, World 3444666-238368873-02. It's in the Hongo Universe System."

Ryo's eyes got very wide. _That's close to where I'm from!_ The thought pounded in his head like a pulse. _This does not bode well…_

Syaoran stepped into the room, and surveyed the damage. He was now wearing a clean AMGDI uniform, and his sword, ironically named _Hien_, was strapped to his side. He seemed to rub the back of his left hand nervously, even with his gloves on. Ryo walked over to the young man, smiling warmly, trying to cover his own insecurities.

"Syaoran-kun," he greeted. "It's good to see you. Gaia tells me you'll be coming with us."

Syaoran nodded. "Yes sir. I look forward to it."

Ryo cracked a weak smile. He found it humorous when n00bs called him "sir". Still, he was glad to have Syaoran with them on this mission. That is, if and when the transporter was fixed.

"Done," Chaud announced, lifting his visor. "Let's rock."

"Kai-san," Rei grabbed Kai's (Joe) scarf as he spoke. "I want to go this time. I want to go with you."

Kai looked at Rei, shocked. "Wha—? Are you sure?"

Rei nodded. Chaud cleared his throat.

"The transporter has a quick fix on it, nothing permanent. If it craps out again, I need to be here to fix it." Chaud was serious, and gave Kai a look. "And don't even say, 'I can fix it.' I'll slap you."

Ryo laid a hand on Kai's shoulder. "It'll be good experience for Rei."

Kai sighed. He seemed to think for a long time. Finally, he spoke.

"All right, fine," he said finally. "But I don't want him to leave my side, got it?"

Rei hugged Kai. Kai made a face, but kissed Rei's head when he thought no one was looking.

"What a haul," Bass said to Treble, surveying the mound of Heart Crystals he had. Treble barked in response. (NOTE: This Bass and Treble are from the original Megaman, BTW.)

Suddenly, Treble perked up. His radio crackled on, and Rikku's voice came through, loud and clear.

"Bass? Rikku. We have trouble; the AMGDI has mobilized finally. They're headed your way, so stop them at all costs. I'm going to be a little busy."

"Doing what?" the Dark Android asked, irritated.

"…I think I found one of _them_. I need to go pick her up. Rikku out." The radio crackled off.

Bass sighed, still irritated. "Well, boy, looks like we have some visitors to scrap. You ready to do some more damage?"

Treble growled in delight.

Ryo looked around, feeling his heart sink. _He DID know this place…_

Takuya, Syaoran, Rei and Kai looked around, and Kai immediately began setting out a search pattern. "Takuya, take Syaoran and head to the northeast, circling around towards the city centre. Me, Rei and Ryo will take the northwest, circling around to meet you. Take out any and all SoulHunters you find. And call for backup if anything comes up. Alright, let's go."

Ryo felt his stomach come up his throat, but followed Kai anyway, desperately hoping that _they_ were still alive, still all right.

Takuya and Syaoran ran through the congested streets, searching for survivors, or SoulHunters, or something. But they found nothing. At least, not at first.

Coming into the city square, they found Bass and Treble waiting for them. The two boys stopped short as Bass transformed his arm into a Phase Cannon, and aimed it at the two boys.

"Well then," Bass snickered. "Let's dance."

Takuya gasped sharply, and shoved Syaoran out of the way, just in time. The plasma blast nicked Takuya's calf as he dove for cover. The young Stoneholder stifled a cry of pain, and clutched his injury, cursing silently.

Syaoran lifted his head, and saw Treble coming at them from above, fangs barred. Syaoran drew his sword quickly, and deflected the attack. Treble landed, and set up quickly for another attack. Syaoran blocked this one too, and kicked Treble away. Yelping in surprise, Treble flew into Bass, and both crashed into a nearby pile of rubble.

Syaoran helped Takuya to his feet. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. Takuya shook his head.

"Not really…but we don't have time to be worried about it. Let's get going." Takuya turned to run, but collapsed, yelling in pain. Syaoran caught him, and scooped Takuya onto his back.

"Not so fast!" Bass yelled, shooting out of the rubble. He flew straight at Syaoran and Takuya, but Takuya was ready. He held his hand out, and unleashed a fire blast.

Unable to dodge, Bass took the blast head-on. He grunted, and stumbled backwards, smoking. Takuya followed up with another blast, this one powered up. The fireball engulfed Bass and Treble, and Takuya was satisfied to hear yells of pain and anger. Syaoran stared, amazed.

"How…did you do that?" he asked.

"No talking! More running!" Takuya urged, and Syaoran ran off. Once they were a safe distance away, Takuya began explaining. "I'm a Stoneholder. The Stone of Fire I have lets me summon fire at will. I'm still trying to master it. It's a lot of work to use all that mana at once. That's why we have to keep running."

Syaoran nodded. "I see…"

A blast of air in front of them confirmed Takuya's worst fears—Bass had caught up, and was blocking off their escape.

Syaoran let Takuya dismount, and took a better grip on his sword. Takuya grabbed his D-Tector, and prepared to Spirit Evolve.

Bass chuckled. "So…you're the Stoneholder of Fire, huh? Not much to you. I could take you in my sleep." He stepped forward and Takuya used it as an opportunity to Spirit Evolve.

EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION! AGUNIMON!! 

The Warrior of Fire stood tall, ready to take on Bass. Bass simply snorted, unimpressed.

"I have no idea why Rikku fell to you," he said. "I am far superior to him, anyway. No one has ever matched me. No one HUMAN, anyway." He levelled his Phase Cannon again.

Syaoran gripped his sword, waiting. He needed the right opportunity. Agunimon silently read Syaoran, and launched an attack.

"BURNING SALAMANDER!" he cried, unleashing a huge blast of fire. Bass turned, dodging the attack, but also leaving himself open. Syaoran attacked.

"PHOENIX SLASH!" His flaming sword cut through the Phase Cannon like it was made of butter. Bass cried out, angrily, and backhanded Syaoran. Syaoran grunted in pain as he impacted the asphalt. His sword flew out of his hand, and landed, blade down, in the road some 30 feet away.

Agunimon continued his attacks, but Bass blocked them all with one hand. He grabbed the Digimon's hand, and threw him into a pile of rubble, almost as if he was a rag doll.

Syaoran pulled himself to his feet, painfully. He saw his sword, and made a mad dash for it. But Bass landed in front of him, cutting him off. Syaoran gasped sharply, and braced himself. Bass punched the boy in the gut, and then slammed his elbow into the boy's shoulder blades. Syaoran hit the pavement, coughing up blood.

Agunimon ran to Syaoran, furious. "PYRO TORNADO!" he cried, unleashing a large twister of fire at Bass. Bass merely closed his eyes, and stopped the fire with one hand. The flames died without even touching the android.

Both Syaoran and Agunimon gasped, shocked. Bass was so strong!

Syaoran's hand trembled. He felt a power welling up inside of him, fuelled by his rage. His sword began to glow faintly.

"Pathetic," Bass spat, slamming Agunimon to the ground. Unable to withstand much more, Takuya De-evolved, and lay on the ground, gasping. Bass stood on Takuya's chest, laughing.

Syaoran had had enough. He rose to his feet, and ripped off his gloves. He didn't even notice the dark green stone embedded in his hand. He snatched his sword, and suddenly, the blade glowed bright green. Syaoran stared, amazed.

Bass turned, shocked. "What?!" he yelled angrily.

Syaoran dashed at Bass, and slashed at him. Bass leapt back, grinning in an almost deranged manor.

"Missed!" he cried. But then, he realized that Syaoran had, indeed, hit him. A huge gash tore open in his chest, and split wires sparked angrily. Bass gasped, landing unsteadily.

Syaoran closed his eyes. The green battle aura around him grew stronger. He slammed the blade of his sword into the ground, and yelled his attack.

"ARBOUR OVERGROTH!" he cried. At first, there was nothing. Bass laughed harshly.

"Is that it?" he asked. But suddenly, the ground under him began to collapse. He gasped, and tried to get away, but the growth of many trees stopped him, tangling him in their unbreakable grasp.

Syaoran took his stance, and his aura morphed into the form of a large bear. He rushed Bass, calling Bass' death call.

"JADE BEAR CLAW!" Syaoran cried, slashing. He almost seemed to go right through Bass. Landing on the other side, he sheathed his sword, and waited.

Bass' eyes got very wide, and he suddenly broke in half along the cut Syaoran had made. Wires sparked violently, and oil splattered across the trees that held him. Bass' eyes ceased to glow, and he slumped forward, permanently offline.

Syaoran fell over, utterly exhausted. Takuya pulled himself over to Syaoran, and leaned against him heavily.

"That was…intense." Takuya smiled. "Welcome to the team, Syaoran," he said, holding out his hand.

Syaoran stared, amazed, and then took his hand, gratefully. The two boys smiled.

"Say," Takuya said suddenly. "Didn't he have a dog?"

Treble suddenly leapt at the boys, teeth barred, ready to tear them apart for the death of his master. The two boys screamed, unable to help themselves.

Without warning, Treble was slammed from the side with a bass guitar, and flew into the side of a nearby building. Looking up, Takuya was greeted by the sight of a tall boy with blond hair, holding his guitar in the position it had been in when it hit Treble. The boy's cerulean eyes blazed, and his black shirt billowed in the wind.

"Back off, mutt. You and your owner did enough damage already."

Takuya stared, wide-eyed at his savoir. "Who…who are you?" he stammered, stunned.

The boy lowered his guitar, and smiled.

"Yamato. But everyone calls me Matt."

NEXT CHAPTER: Ryo races to save his old friends. But is he too late? And who is Rikku looking for? And when Rikku pulls his idea of a joke on Matt, is he able to cope? Plus, will the mysterious ninja ever be identified? With the SoulHunters attacks growing in frequency, will the AMGDI even be able to keep up? Or will someone break down? All in **Chapter 4: "Friendship Burns! Daijob!"**


	4. Chapter 4 Friendship Burning! Daijob!

**United**

**By Steph O'Dell**

Based on the fanfiction "United We Stand" by Anime Master Zero Chapter 4: Friendship Burning! Daijob! 

(Note: I would just like to state that killing people is NOT fun. But it is sometimes necessary. If someone you care about dies in this story, DO NOT YELL AT ME. Chances are, I cared for them too.)

Takuya stared, wide-eyed at his savoir. "Who…who are you?" he stammered, stunned.

The boy lowered his guitar, and smiled.

"Yamato. But everyone calls me Matt."

Treble got up, shakily. It looked very angry. It growled viciously, and leapt at Matt, who glared at it coldly.

"BLUE BLASTER!" The cry echoed through the area, as a blast of blue flame hit Treble square on, sending it back into the wall, and causing it to burst into flames. It howled in pain.

"Sorry I'm late, Matt!" Gabumon called as he ran into view. Matt turned and smiled widely at his friend.

"No prob, Gabumon. I knew you'd show eventually. Nice save, by the way," Matt chuckled, patting his friend on the back. Gabumon blushed.

"Aww…it was nothing, Matt. What's a little save between friends?" Gabumon joked, modestly.

Takuya and Syaoran stared, shocked. Takuya pointed at Gabumon.

"You…you're a Gabumon!" he stated, dumbfounded.

Gabumon blinked. "Last time I checked," he said.

Matt scratched his head, amused. "You…know about Digimon?" he asked.

"Yeah…that's a long story," Takuya said, shaking his head.

"What's a…Digimon?" Syaoran asked.

"That's an even longer story," Takuya admitted. "What I'd like to know is why one's here. I thought Digimon couldn't exist in the real world."

Matt and Gabumon looked at each other, shrugging. "Well, Gabumon's here, so that blows that theory," Matt replied, helplessly.

"I wonder where Ryo-san is," Syaoran asked absently.

While Takuya and Syaoran had been squaring off against Bass, Ryo, Kai and Rei had made it to the apartment of Matt's friend, Tai. They'd followed Rikku's signal there, and were preparing to take him down permanently.

Ryo tensed as they cleared the last flight of stairs. He could smell the choking smell of smoke.

_Oh God, please say I'm not too late…_ he prayed silently.

Unfortunately, his prayers were not answered. Ryo could see the door to Tai's apartment had been blown clear off its hinges, and smoke billowed out of the apartment into the cool late afternoon air. The walls of the veranda were scorched, and the railing was bent and even broken in some spots. And there, lying on the veranda floor was the broken and bloody form of Taichi Yagami.

Ryo ran to his friend's side, cradling him gently in his arms. Tai's bloody face was twisted in pain, and Ryo gently began cleaning it off with his shirt. Tai's eyes opened slightly.

"…R…yo…?" he asked weakly.

Ryo nodded, choking back tears. He could hear Rei crying into Kai's shoulder behind him.

"It's going to be okay, Tai…I'm here…" Ryo managed to say before his voice broke.

Tai tried to shake his head, but winced. "No…I…I'm done for…I know it…I…I can't find…Kari…or Matt…please, Ryo…" Tai's eyes overflowed. "…Find them…for me…"

Ryo nodded, tears edging into his eyes. "I promise…"

Tai tried to lean closer to Ryo, so Ryo bowed his head closer to Tai.

"Tell Matt…tell Yama…I…love him…" Tai's plea was a whisper.

Ryo felt the tears pour silently out of his eyes. He nodded. "I promise, Tai…I'll find Matt, and tell him…just hold on—"

But Tai's head fell back, and he drew his last breath. Ryo held his friend's lifeless body, totally stunned.

How could Rikku DO this… 

Kai stepped forward, and gently placed a hand on Ryo's shoulder. "C'mon, Ryo. There isn't any more we can do for him."

Ryo clutched Tai's heart crystal tightly, and sobbed loudly. "NO!!"

Rei sat down beside Ryo, and threw his arms around the older boy.

"Don't cry, Ryo-san. It'll be alright," Rei cooed softly. Rei, too, was sad, but he was still trying so hard to make Ryo feel better. Ryo smiled, and dried his eyes.

"Thank you, Rei-chan. You're right. We'll find Matt and Kari, and it'll be okay." Ryo stood up, helping Rei to his feet.

"Ritchie," Ryo said into his communicator. "Can you locate a couple of life signatures for me?"

"Yes sir," Ritchie responded. "Fire away."

"Hikari Yagami, and Yamato Ishida," Ryo said.

There was silence for a moment, and then Ritchie gave the results of the search.

"Hikari Yagami is nowhere to be found on that world, sir," Ritchie informed Ryo sadly. "I'm sorry. But I did find Yamato."

Ryo brightened a little. "Give me his location."

He's in the city centre, with Takuya and Syaoran," Ritchie explained. "You'd better hurry, sir. There's been a lot of enemy activity there the last few minutes."

"Thank you, Ritchie. Ryo out." Ryo turned to Kai. "Let's get going."

Kai nodded.

Ryo called for Cyberdramon, and the Digimon carried the three boys as fast as it could to the city centre.

Treble was giving Garurumon a lot of trouble. Matt ground his teeth, frustrated.

"Don't back down, Garurumon," he called. Garurumon growled in response.

"Don't worry, Matt. He's no match for me!" Garurumon turned to face Treble.

"HOWLING BLASTER!" he called, unleashing a fiery blast at Treble. Treble took the blow, and then charged at Garurumon, biting down hard onto its tail. Garurumon howled.

"Garurumon!" Matt cried. He ran to his friend's aid.

But a black blur shot out of nowhere, seeming to pass through Treble, and skidded to a stop some distance away.

Treble landed, and then broke apart, just as Bass had done after Syaoran's attack. Wires crackled angrily as Treble fell to the ground, now in two pieces.

The black figure put his foot down on Treble's head, and pressed down until it shattered.

"Rikku!" Takuya yelled angrily. "Why? Weren't those two your allies?"

Rikku snorted. "There are no allies in the SoulHunter's ranks. Besides, they were weak. They'll be absorbed back into the dark, and recycled." He kicked Treble's carcass. "Worthless mutt…"

"You!" Matt yelled angrily, pointing at Rikku. "You're the one who killed my brother!"

Rikku looked at Matt. His eyebrows furrowed together behind his bandana. "Oh yes, you again," he said, finally. "Yes, so what? I needed his heart crystal."

Matt went red with rage. "You bastard! I'll kill you!" He ran at Rikku, fully intent on killing him.

"Matt! Don't!" Takuya called, panicking. "He's too strong!"

Rikku smirked. "You ought to listen to him…" He grabbed Matt's arm, and threw him into Garurumon. The two landed heavily on the ground.

Rikku seemed to study the two for a moment, and then a devilish grin crossed his face. He lifted his Keyblade, pointing it at Matt's heart. A thin beam of light shot out, passing through Matt and Garurumon's hearts. Rikku chuckled, and turned the Keyblade. A loud locking sound echoed through the area, and Matt screamed in pain.

"That ought to keep you two out of my hair while I finish this," he muttered.

Takuya and Syaoran prepared to fight, when they heard Ryo calling.

"Hey! Wait! Wait for us!" Ryo called, waving wildly.

Rikku turned to look at Ryo, disgusted. "I have better things to do with my time that fight you all right now," he spat.

"Coward! You just know we'll whip you again! Just like last time!" Takuya taunted.

Rikku gave a "Hmph!" "Think what you want!" he answered, as he disappeared.

Ryo dismounted quickly, and ran over to Takuya and Syaoran. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Takuya nodded, and Ryo noticed the stone in Syaoran's hand. His eyes got very large.

"The Wood Stone!" he yelped. You're a StoneHolder, Syaoran!"

Syaoran wasn't sure how to react. He blushed furiously, and hid the Stone subconsciously. But Ryo grabbed his hands and jumped up and down ecstatically.

Kai stared at Ryo with a look of blank disgust. Even Rei looked a little embarrassed.

"Umm…shouldn't someone, uh, _help_ Matt?" Takuya asked, sweatdropping as he pointed at Matt and Garurumon.

Ryo turned. "Oh…uh, right. Thank you. I'm so very sorry Ma—" Ryo had turned to the blond, but yelped in alarm when he saw Matt in pain. Running to his side, Ryo tried to help his friend.

"Matt! What's wrong?!" he asked, panicking. "What can I do?"

"Well…for starters…you can GET OFF MY ARM!" Matt informed Ryo, pointing to his arm that Ryo was kneeling on.

Ryo apologized, and got off Matt. He took a look at Garurumon, who was also in pain.

"Garurumon? Are you okay?" Ryo was concerned.

"I…I don't know…I can't seem to De-Digivolve…" Garurumon grunted in pain.

Ryo knitted his brows. "We've done all we can here, so let's get these two back to the bass, and get them some help." He rang up Ritchie on his communicator.

"What's new, Chief?" Ritchie greeted friendly.

"Are the repairs holding?" Ryo asked.

"For now," Chaud replied grimly.

"How about transports? Can we do it?" Ryo asked, slightly worried.

"It'll hold," Chaud assured Ryo. "Just don't push it."

"Alright then…Ritchie, get us back, two at a time. And get Matt and Garurumon while you're at it. Oh, and have Chii come down. We're going to need her," Ryo instructed.

"Would you like fries with that, sir?" Ritchie joked.

"Don't push us…" Kai growled. "Several people have died today. Don't become a casualty."

"Gulp! Yessir!" Ritchie responded.

Ritchie pulled Syaoran and Takuya back first. Then he pulled Kai and Rei back, and finally Ryo felt the tingle of the transporter as Ritchie pulled him, Matt and Garurumon back to the AMGDI.

Releasing his breath, Ryo stepped down from the transporter pad. Transporters made him nervous.

A large crowd had gathered in the hall, as many AMGDI members were gathered around Syaoran, complimenting him on a job well done, and welcoming him in. Syaoran had turned red from all the praise.

Ryo smiled. It was good to have a little good news, amidst all the carnage.

Chii picked that moment to arrive. She smiled sweetly at Ryo, and Ryo felt even better. She was awful pretty, even for a robot…no, for anyone.

"I need you to look at Matt for me," he told Chii.

Ryo suddenly remembered why he needed to talk to Matt, and he winced. He hated being a bearer of bad news.

Ryo turned to the transporter pad, and gasped.

A figure was slumped against the wall. It had Matt's medium length blond hair, and Garurumon's stripes and feathers. The symbol of Friendship was emblazoned on its bare chest. And Garurumon's slender tail twitched against its leg.

Ryo bent down, and hesitantly reached out a hand to the form. He shook the figure awake.

The figure's blue eyes fluttered open, and he moaned sleepily. Ryo sucked in his breath sharply. Even though they had an animal-like quality to them, there was no mistake; those were Matt's eyes. This…person…was, in fact, Matt.

Matt rubbed his eyes with a clawed hand, and yawned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth. He looked at Ryo and blinked several times.

"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, puzzled.

Ryo tried to cover up his shock. "Uhh…no reason. Umm, Matt, this is Chii. She's going to check you over, make sure you're okay."

Chii gave a small bow, and Matt blushed slightly. Still, he let Chii look him over. Matt still didn't seem to notice anything different about himself, and Ryo was ready to implode, trying not to say anything.

Chii politely excused herself from Matt, and came over to Ryo.

"Well?" Ryo whispered.

Chii shook her head. "I…cannot be sure what has happened. My guess is that his DNA and Garurumon's data fused somehow during transport." She kept her voice low, but turned her head to look at Matt. "I'm not sure if there's a way to reverse it."

Ryo rubbed his temples, irritated. "One moment," he said, walking over to Chaud.

Chaud turned to Ryo. "What now?"

Ryo's eye twitched. "What the hell happened?" Ryo demanded. "You said the transporter was okay!"

Chaud got indignant. "There was—and is— nothing wrong with the transporter!" He shoved Ryo. "He has the problem! You didn't come back wrong! He did!"

Ryo shoved back. "Well, _some_thing went wrong, and I aim to find out WHAT!"

Chaud waved his hand at Matt. "Well then, why don't you ask MUTT-BOY over there! Maybe HE knows!"

Ryo grabbed Chaud by the shirt. "Back off!" he hissed dangerously.

Chaud smirked. "Oh, what? You don't like me takin' hits at your friends?"

Matt stared at the two boys, his eyes wide with shock. He slowly looked around, seemingly searching for Garurumon.

"Ga…bu…mon…?" he said, beginning to panic. "Where is…oh god—!"

Ryo turned sharply. Matt was staring at his arm, shocked. He didn't move; he simply stared. Ryo ran over to the blond, gathering him into his arms.

"It's alright, Matt. It's okay." Ryo hugged Matt tightly.

Matt broke down, unable to cope with what was happening. He shoved Ryo away from him, his eyes overflowing. He clenched his head, whimpers escaping from his lips. Suddenly, he threw back his head, and let loose a sound akin to a cry and a howl mixed together. The sound echoed through the small room, reverberating off the walls, growing in intensity.

It was Rei that quieted the blond. The small boy had thrown his slender arms around Matt, and cried along with him. The two had eventually calmed down, as Kai rubbed their backs comfortingly.

Matt sat, his back against the wall, in his new room. The one they'd given him here at the AMGDI. It felt so…impersonal…that, and way too sanitary. The floors were so shiny, and the bed was made perfectly.

Matt hated it.

The room smelt overpoweringly like Lysol, and the was nothing outside his window even remotely close to scenery. He'd checked; it was all a hologram.

God, he hated this room. This place, in fact.

He hugged his knees, and growled low; irritably. He hated this body. He hated the boy who did this to him. He hated everyone and everything at that moment.

The door hissed open, and a figure stepped inside. Without even looking up, Matt knew it was Ryo. He could _smell_ it, that overpowering stench of dust and sweet potatoes. _Why sweet potatoes_? he thought. _I hate sweet potatoes…_

Ryo stumbled around in the dark. "Matt?" he asked, quietly. "Are you here? I need to talk to you…"

Matt didn't reply. He didn't want to talk.

Ryo sighed. He stepped forward, and banged his shin on the small chest of drawers at the foot of the bed. He stifled a yelp of pain, and rubbed his shin. "That's it," he barked. "I'm turning on a light!"

"Don't…" Matt said, sighing. "It hurts my eyes…" _And, I want to be alone…_he grumbled, mentally.

Ryo carefully made his way over to Matt and sat down. He gave Matt a sympathetic look. Matt grumbled, and turned his head away.

Ryo looked at his shoes, trying to figure out how to talk to Matt, as if his shoes would reveal some earth-shattering secret to breaking through the blonde's hard crust.

Matt dug his scarlet claws into his arm, clenching himself to keep out the world. If he held himself together…

Crimson blood began to pool around his claws, and he winced. He'd sort of forgotten about his new features. His feathery ears twitched, and Matt sighed sadly.

"Why…are you here, Ryo?" he asked finally. Maybe if Ryo said what he needed to say, he'd go away.

Ryo looked at Matt. His brown eyes were soft and sad. Matt didn't like that look. It was the look his mom had used when she told Matt that her and his father were getting a divorce…

"Matt…" Ryo hesitated. "Matt…when we came to your world…well, the first thing I did was find Tai. I had hoped…" Ryo choked on his words, and he swallowed. "Matt, Rikku…that boy that attacked T.K. …He'd gotten to Tai first. It…was awful, Matt. I…" Ryo was starting to break down. "Oh god, Matt…I tried…but…I couldn't save him…"

Matt stared at Ryo, wide-eyed. The information overloaded him. _Tai…dead? No…it can't be true! Tai can't be…_ Matt's mind raced, trying to find rationality in Ryo's words.

He can't be…He can't be… 

Ryo lowered his head, the tears flowing. "I'm so sorry, Matt. He was my friend too…"

Matt buried his head in his arms, whimpering. He rocked back and forth.

Ryo rubbed Matt's back, soothingly. "There's…something else, Matt. He…wanted me to tell you…that he loved you."

Matt burst out into tears. _Tai…that…that BAKA! He couldn't even tell me that to my face! He had to chicken out and DIE on me!_ He sobbed.

Dumb Tai…stupid, stupid, stupid… 

Matt clasped onto Ryo, sobbing vehemently. He needed to be held, and Ryo did just that. He held Matt, stroking his hair.

"I…I love him so much! Why did he have to die, Ryo?! It's not FAIR!" Matt wailed.

The boys sat in the dark, crying, morning the loss of someone so close to them; a friend to one…a lover to the other.

Rei sighed. Kai had gone into Hien's office some time ago, and Rei was very bored. He scratched his ear with his foot.

A sound in Susanou's office caught his attention. His ears perked up as he listened. It sounded like someone was rustling papers.

Rei snuck over to the open door, and peeked in. A figure he didn't recognize was moving papers around on the desk. It pulled a file out from under its body armour, and placed it on the desk.

Rei stared at the figure's blue hair. It seemed so familiar…where had he seen it before? Did he know this person? They seemed familiar somehow. Rei decided to ask.

The figure lifted themselves up into the air duct above the desk, and Rei hurried over to follow. He leapt up on the desk, and pulled himself in after the mysterious figure.

The figure tuned his head to see who was following him, and Rei saw the figures dark eyes flash with panic. The eyes were familiar, but the lower half of the face was covered with a mask, so Rei wasn't sure who they were.

"Shoo!" the figure said, pushing Rei back with one hand. Rei snatched the glove on the figure's hand with his teeth, yanking, trying to pull it off. Rei wanted to play; the figure needed to escape. He finally pulled his hand free, growling in disgust.

"I'll be back for that!" he told Rei, as he disappeared.

Rei stared at the empty duct, confused. Where did his playmate go? He started to cry.

"Come back!" Rei cried. "I'll give it back! I'm sorry! Let's play some more!"

Kai exited Hien's office, utterly disgusted. He'd had enough of Hien's constant complaining and arguing.

This time had been no exception. Hien had blamed the entire transporter incident on him, not Ritchie. Kai had blown up, and told him to get stuffed.

Kai leaned against the wall, sighing. He realized, suddenly, that Rei wasn't there. Panicking, Kai called Rei's name.

Rei peeked out of Susanou's office, shyly. Kai ran over to him.

"What are you doing in there?" Kai asked gruffly. He was relieved to see Rei unharmed, but he'd never admit it.

Rei sniffed back some tears. "He ran away…"

Kai's tough façade crumbled. "Who did, Rei? And why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

Rei sniffled. "That boy who was in here. He left some things on the desk. Then he went in the duct, so I followed him. He didn't want to play with me, so he went away. I said I'd give him back his glove, but he didn't come back." Rei held out the glove to Kai.

Kai stared at the glove. He knew exactly whose glove this was.

_But that's impossible!_ he thought. _He's DEAD!_

A bloody jacket flashed through his memory. Takao screaming. Rikku with that smug look on his face…

Kai clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists.

Rei looked at Kai with a worried face. "Did I do something bad, Kai-san?"

Kai patted Rei on the head. "No, Rei-chan. Actually, you did a very good thing." Kai glared at the folder on Susanou's desk. "A very good thing…"

"I want to work," Fai said to Umi.

Umi beamed. "Oh Fai-san! How wonderful! Where do you want to work?"

Fai scratched his head. "To be honest, I'm really not sure."

Umi tapped her lips with her finger. "Well, what are you good at?"

Fai smiled. "Well, I can draw. Oh! And I can cook!"

Umi clapped her hands. "Why, that's it! Fai-san, we need another cook! Azuma-kun, and Watanuki-san are so overworked. Will you help them in the kitchen?"

Fai clapped his hands as well. "Of course! Yay! I get to be useful!"

Hien chose that moment to walk in. He grumbled. "Why are you two so happy?"

Umi smiled. "Fai-san is going to be helping in the kitchen from now on!"

Hien groaned. "No! The meal's are bad enough!"

Umi hit Hien over the head with her very large fan, which had been a gift from Yuko. "Fai is a WONDERFUL cook!"

Hien rubbed his bump, growling. "Oh really?"

Umi wasn't listening. She snatched Fai's hand, and dashed out of the room.

"I feel like APPLE BUNNIES!" Umi cried, happily.

"APPLE BUNNIES! Yay!" Fai agreed.

Hien stared in disgust. "Idiots…"

"And THIS is the gardens," Umi said, throwing open the door to the gardens. The air hung heavy with condensation and the perfumes of many flowers. Gaia looked over from the apple tree she had been tending and smiled.

"Oh, hello, Gaia-san!" Fai greeted, waving. Gaia smiled, and waved back.

"Hello, Fai-san. Welcome to the Gardens. This area here is the Orchard." She giggled. "I made every tree in here."

"And they're all just as lovely as you," Fai complimented, giggling.

Gaia blushed. "Remember, children, everything in here is edible, even I'm edible. Although that's called 'cannibalism', and is frowned upon by society."

Everyone laughed at Gaia's joke.

Gaia pointed over to another part of the gardens. "Over there is the nursery. Ryo spends a lot of his time in there, surprisingly. Who knew a man could show his feminine side so prominently, and not be gay." She smiled. "But he really is a green thumb. He collects plant samples from other worlds, and raises them in there. It's his way of helping out."

"Can we have some apples, Gaia-chan?" Umi asked. She gave a cute puppy-dog look.

"Have as many as you want. That's why they're here," Gaia replied, smiling.

"Yay! Now our apple bunnies will be a reality!" Umi cried happily.

"Hurray!" Fai cried, throwing his hands up.

Gaia smiled and clasped her hands, taking secret enjoyment in watching the idiots dance.

"Glad I could help," was all she said.

Matt stepped hesitantly into the hallway. His ears twitched, nervously. He knew he couldn't stay in his room forever. In fact, he was very hungry, and his angrily grumbling stomach had gotten the best of him.

Now he was searching for the cafeteria. He realized, angrily, that he should have asked Ryo when he'd had a chance. Now he was lost. Wandering aimlessly up and down the halls, Matt grew more and more irritated.

_Nice going, stupid…now you're completely lost! You really ARE useless!_

Matt turned a corner, and yelped in surprise. Kai was walking down the hall towards him, lost in thought. He wasn't paying attention to Matt, so Matt ducked back around the corner, and tried to make a break for it.

"Yamato-san!" a voice called out.

Matt sighed. He recognised the voice; it was Rei. He'd forgotten that Rei and Kai were almost never seen without each other. He slowed to a stop. _Busted_.

Laughing delightedly, Rei ran around the corner, and glomped onto Matt. He looked into Matt's face, his eyes sparkling, and his cheeks flushed.

"Why did you run away, Yamato-san?" Rei's face went sad. "Don't you like us anymore?"

Matt's eye twitched self-consciously. Why HAD he run?

Kai stared at Matt indifferently. "Well, look who graced the world with his presence…"

Matt's ears drooped, and he looked at the floor. He suddenly realized how selfish he was being. So what if he looked a little different? (…Okay, a LOT different…) No one seemed to care; Rei was practically hugging him to death! If that wasn't love, Matt didn't know what was.

"…Tell me something, Rei-chan…" Matt began.

Rei looked up at Matt, attentively.

Matt took a shaky breath. "…Am I…strange?"

Rei blinked. "No," he answered, honestly. "No, Yamato-san, you're not strange." He smiled warmly. "I like you just the way you are!"

Matt smiled back, tears edging into his eyes. Rei was naive, but he was also right. Matt needed to get over himself.

Kai laughed. Matt scowled at the tough boy.

"What's your problem?" Matt asked, angrily.

Kai stopped laughing, his face instantly serious. "You're pathetic…"

Matt twitched angrily. "What?"

Kai closed his eyes and gave a "Hmph!". He crossed his arms, and pried one eye open to look at Matt.

"Do you want to know why you're pathetic? Here's why: You're so wrapped up in feeling sorry for yourself, and thinking you're some hideous monster, that you can't even crawl out of that dark hole of yours long enough to acknowledge anyone or anything else. You're so selfish. It makes me so sick. Just buck up, and get a grip." He uncrossed his arms, and walked over to Matt. "Here's my advice: Forget the past. It's over, and you can't fix it. Move on, and try to help out here and now. And if people look at you weird because you look different, well…tell them to fuck off and die. You don't need to adhere to some idealistic image of normality to fit into society."

Matt stared at Kai, shocked. He was so profound…Matt realized he had a lot to think about. This boy knew more about him than he did!

He patted Rei on the head. "Thanks Kai…I needed that…" Matt turned to leave.

Kai gave another "Hmph!" as he, too, turned to leave. Rei caught Kai's hand, and they walked off down the hall.

"Wait!" Matt called after them. Kai paused, and turned.

"Umm…do you know…where I can find the cafeteria?" Matt asked, sweatdropping.

Kai gave Matt a look of annoyance. "…Idiot."

Matt nervously walked into the cafeteria later. He looked around, half-expecting someone to tell him to get lost. He shook his head.

_Buck up, Matt! Remember what Kai said!_

Matt took a deep breath, and walked over to the counter. He realized, suddenly, that the place was deserted. Not a single person was there. Matt suddenly felt stupid about getting all worked up for nothing.

"Can I help you?" a voice asked Matt pleasantly.

Matt whirled around to see Fai standing behind the serving counter, a warm smile on his face. The tall blond asked the shorter one again, "Can I help you? Is there something you need?"

Matt burned crimson with embarrassment. "Umm…well…I…uhh…"

Fai laughed. "Don't be nervous! We're all friends here!" He set up a plate for Matt. "You must be hungry…you haven't eaten since you got here." Fai paused, looking at Matt coyly. "Am I right?"

Matt blinked several times. "Uhh…right…"

Fai clapped his hands, delighted. "Ah ha! I love it when I'm right! Well, you're in luck! We made some apple bunnies earlier, and Azuma-tan and Watasaki-rin made some yummy treats!" He put a small plate of apple bunnies on Matt's tray, and added a small plate of rice dumplings, and three of Azuma's Japan #167. "And, just for you—" Fai added, placing a slice of strawberry cheesecake on the tray, "—Something I used to serve at the Cat's Eye Café!"

Matt stared in amazement at the tray of goodies in front of him. He felt hot tears in his eyes.

_Why am I crying? _He thought, anxiously. _This…doesn't make sense!_

Fai seemed to sense Matt's confusion, and came around the counter, removing his apron.

"Why…are you being so nice to me?" Matt asked, confused.

Fai smiled warmly. "I'm not treating you any differently from anyone else…" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "But I suppose I can sense how sad you are, and thought I'd cheer you up."

Matt burst into tears. Fai gathered Matt up in his arms, rubbing his back soothingly.

"There, there now…no tears…" Fai cooed, calming Yamato stream of hot tears.

"I…I miss him…so much! Hic!" Matt sobbed into Fai's shoulder.

Fai smoothed the boy's hair, his own eyes misting over. He had left someone precious behind on his own world. Now, he wondered how they were doing…

The sound of alarms alerted Fai and Yamato to an emergency. The two broke the hug, a little embarrassed, and ran down the hall to the meeting room.

The entire complex was present. Kai was beginning to feel an acute case of claustrophobia coming on. _There are a lot of people in this place_, he realized. He remembered back when the place was empty and almost barren.

_It's changed a lot since then…_he reasoned.

The Four Higher Beings stood, addressing the group.

"We've just received a signal from a world in distress," Hien explained rather tensely. "It's coming from Quadrant 014, World 385563825-252436478, in the Arakawa Universe. It's a bit of a thorny situation, as that entire world is engulfed in war right now. Going in there will be dangerous."

"What…kind of war?" Sora asked, timidly. Sora may have been the wielder of the Keyblade, and the only hop his Quadrant had of saving everything, but he still didn't like to fight.

Gaia cleared her throat, and interrupted politely. "It's a civil war, between the Military and the civilians. It seems the military had been doing many things behind the publics back that were both dangerous and selfish. Now that the public, and even some of the officers themselves, are fighting back. The world is in complete chaos…the perfect breeding ground for SoulHunters.

"But, according to this file I received, there is a boy on that world who may very well be a StoneHolder," Susanou interrupted.

"But…a Civil War?" Takuya looked worried. "Shouldn't we try to stay clear of that sort of thing?"

"Sir, if I may?" Sosuke spoke up from the back. Susanou nodded to him.

"Sir, a military action is both dangerous and unpredictable. If we charge headlong into the fray without fully knowing our enemy, we'll be overwhelmed. Wars are won based on strategy. So, I believe it is in our best interests to perform reconacence on this particular region, so as to obtain the proper information we require to fully understand our enemy, and obliterate them." Sosuke finished his speech, and stood at attention again, while Kaname shook her head and groaned behind him.

Everyone looked at Sosuke blankly. Then Hien blasted out in laughter.

"Y'know, the guy's got a point!" Hien spoke, after recovering from his laughter. "The best way to avoid being killed in the crossfire is to learn more about the people in that war."

"I believe it's time…" Umi spoke. "For those two to earn their keep." She turned to Chaud. "Have you finished with your little project?"

Chaud swallowed, then nodded stiffly. "Yes. It…she…should be operational."

"Good. Take Chii, and get her operational. Take my PS2, if need me. Don't give me that look," Umi shot at Chaud's confused look. "I got it cheap on a dying planet. I dunno, it's just she had some brand markings on her somewhere…I thought it might help…"

Chaud made a face, but left with Chii in tow. Umi pointed at Ryo and Kai. "Go down to the holding cells. In the second and third cells on the left hand side, there are two men. The first one…he's rather unpredictable. We've been unable to restrain him long enough to implant the micro-translator.

"…Micro…translator?…" Takuya asked, suspiciously.

Ryo looked nervous. "It's no big deal. They're micro machines we implant right next to the main spinal cord, right under the base of the skull. They're harmless. They tap into the bodies own language centre, and input new language signals. Everyone here speaks different languages. So every language in our database is put into our translators, so that we can all understand each other. It's done while they're unconscious, or incapacitated, so they don't struggle. A slip would kill them."

"How do we understand you until then?" Takuya asked, not liking what he was hearing.

"We have a small field in out communicators that acts like a translator. It has a small radius, but it works until the implantation."

Takuya shuttered inwardly. _Eew._

The holding cells weren't like Takuya thought they'd be. They were clean, and brightly lit. The bars on each cell were thick steel, but the cells themselves were large, and even comfortable looking. Despite the bars, one might even feel at home in one.

Takuya glanced at the man in the second cell as he passed. His reddish-brown hair was matted, and clung to his wet skin. He had been bound in a straight jacket, and was sitting on the floor, glaring out at Takuya with burning eyes. Takuya shuttered, and hurried past.

The person in the third cell, as a stark contrast, was blond, with light eyes, and a slumped posture. He sat on his bead, leaning heavily against the wall. Tired and defeated. He was unbound, but showed no signs of being a threat.

"Y0U W1LL 4LL F4LL B-4 M41 M1G-T! R3L3453 M3!" the man in the second cell screamed. The voice was hoarse and choked, apparently from his constant screaming. Everyone's translators responded violently, causing waves of nauseating pain to shoot up Takuya's temple.

"OWW! What the FUCK was that?!" Kai yelled, obviously in pain.

"The translator's trying to decipher a language it doesn't know. It therefore shorts out, causing the pain we're feeling," Ryo explained, still wincing from the jolt.

"l…argo…sh…ut up…" the blond man called weakly. Takuya stared in shock. He was speaking his language!

"You…speak Japanese?" Ryo asked, disbelieving. Japanese was the only common language spoken through most of the worlds.

The man looked up and laughed hoarsely. "Never thought…being an…otaku…would come…in handy…"

Ryo sat down on the bed beside the man. "I'm Ryo…" he said. "What's your name?"

"…Piro…" the man said. "And the lunatic in the next cell is Largo."

Ryo handed Piro a flask of water, and he took it gratefully, downing half of it in one long gulp.

"That's better…" he said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "I swear, the people in charge left me down here to die."

"It probably wasn't intentional," Kai replied, scornfully. "But seeing the people in charge here, yeah. I'd say that's about right."

Piro laughed. Apparently, he thought Kai was funny. Takuya sure didn't.

Ryo cleared his throat. "Well, anyway…Piro-san, we are in need of your help."

Piro seemed startled for a second, and then recovered. "Me?" He chewed his lip. "What for?"

"Well…you see, there's a group of people we have to visit, but we know nothing about the people there, or the war they're fighting. We were told you knew something about them, and we'd appreciate it if you could tell us what you know." Ryo seemed nervous. He was choosing his words carefully.

Piro blinked several times, and then shrugged. "Sure," was all he said.

Ryo let out his breath, which he was unaware he had been holding. Kai jerked his thumb towards the other cell. "What about your friend, the lunatic?"

Piro gave a whimsical smile. "Want me to talk to him? He's been speaking nothing but L33T since we got here."

"L33T?" Takuya asked, the translator whining at the unfamiliar word. "What's that?"

"Gamer talk. You replace letters with numbers and symbols, and shorten other words and phrases to acronyms. It more annoying than anything." Piro made a sour face. He does this kind of thing a lot."

Kai waved to the open door. "Be our guest," he said.

Piro stood up, and slowly walked over to Largo's cell. He stood in front of the door, holding the bars, and pressing his forehead into the hard, cold steel. He squinted into the dark depths of the cell, and called out.

"Largo?"

"…Piro? Are you…sane? You're not…one of _them_, are you?"

Piro scoffed. "You've been playing way too many video games lately." He sighed, and rubbed his eyes before continuing. "These people…they only need our help. That's all. C'mon, Largo. Stop being such a spaz! Try thinking on your own for a change, instead of keeping your brain locked away in those video games!"

There was silence from Largo's cell for a moment. Then, he spoke.

"All right…But if I die, I'll be very grumpy in the morning."

Piro adjusted the new pair of glasses on his nose, until he found a comfortable place for them.

"These are very…emo…" he said finally, studying the frames up close. "I mean, the style of the frames. They're called 'Emo' where I'm from."

Ryo shrugged helplessly. "Lady Umi picked them out. She thought they were…uhh…you."

Piro laughed. "All right. I'll wear them." He put the glasses back on, and stood up.

Ping, the PS2 accessory (And friend of Piro's) beamed with pride. "I made them! Aren't they great, Piro-san?"

Piro smiled at Ping. "They're great! Thank you, Ping. I'll wear them all the time."

Ping squealed happily, jumping up and down, clasping Chii's hands so she could share in Ping's glee.

Chaud's face was made of stone, but a small tick in his left cheek betrayed him. "What have I done?" he murmured darkly.

"You have no idea…" Piro murmured back as he passed Chaud on his way out of the room.

Piro walked uneasily down the hall to the meeting room. There, he was to be briefed on the current situation, and he was to tell them exactly what they were getting into.

Piro sighed. At least he didn't have to stick around while Largo was getting his implant. They were going to have to restrain him just to sedate him.

Largo ran around the medical ward, trying to evade the people chasing him. _They sure are persistent!_ Largo thought. _And they keep talking to me in that evil language…_

Largo backed into a corner next to a table that held many scary looking instruments. He glanced over them, panicking. His eyes fell on a vaguely gun-shaped tool, and he snatched it up, quickly, pointing it shakily at everyone.

"Stay back! Back, you evil denizens of darkness!" he screamed, jerking the gun threateningly.

The pursuers looked scared, and backed up slightly. One of them, a tall brunette, turned to another with two-toned blue hair, and said something. The other yelled back in an angry voice, then gave a disgusted sigh. He turned, and advanced on Largo, swiftly.

"I said back! I know how to use this thing!" Largo informed him, shakily. He really had no idea how to use what he was holding, but he felt the basic premise was simple enough—point and pull the trigger. It was a _gun_, after all. Or…something like one, anyway.

The boy grabbed Largo's wrist in a blur of speed, and applied pressure. Largo cried out in pain, and dropped the weapon on the floor. _No!_ Largo thought, panicking. _This…this is very bad. They are very skilled. Damn it! Where's my Ninja when I need him?! _

The blue-haired boy then smirked at Largo, and Largo felt all the air rush out of him as the boy punched him in the gut.

_That…hurt…_ thought Largo as he passed into unconsciousness.

Susanou placed the file on the desk in front of Piro, and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'd like to thank you in advance, Piro-san."

Piro looked at the folder, and tried to stop his gut from leaping out of his throat. Something told him this wasn't going to end well.

"Sure…just doing what I can to help." Piro took a shaky breath, and opened the file. He stared down at the picture of a boy with piercing gold eyes, and a blond plait braid.

Umi noted his look of sadness. "You do know him, then?"

Piro nodded. "That's…Edward Elrick. He's a State Alchemist."

Hien's brow wrinkled. "Alchemist…?"

"He works for the Military, then?" Susanou asked.

"No," Umi stated. "He's employed by the military, but he doesn't follow them."

"You said something about a war?" Piro asked uneasily.

Umi nodded. "A huge conflict between the military and the civilians. Apparently word got out about their little 'operation'."

Piro swallowed. "Then Edward will be in Central right now, getting ready to move out. You'll have to be fast."

"We'll send a team in immediately. Organize a party," Hien barked at the others.

Piro continued to sit as the others left the room, still staring at the file in front of him.

_I hope I did the right thing…_

Rei, Kai, Takuya, Sora and Syaoran all suited up and prepared to go into the middle of the battle raging on the world they were about to visit. Piro looked on, a mix of emotion.

"Please, don't get hurt out there. And don't meddle with things too badly, alright?" he asked the boys anxiously.

Ryo put his hand comfortingly on Piro's shoulder. "Don't worry, sir," he said. "Kai's a stickler for regulation."

Kai shot him a glare and gave a "Hmph!" of anger.

"It's nice to have you with us, Sora-kun," Takuya told the young Keyblade wielder shyly.

Sora blushed, laughing nervously. "Please, just Sora is fine. And I'm glad to be here too."

"I thought you weren't good for very much, Sora," Kai sniped. "You've never gone on missions before."

Sora frowned. "Maybe because I don't want to deal with your unsavoury humour, Kai."

Kai's eyes snapped, but he fell silent.

Largo chose that moment to appear in the doorway beside Piro. He looked tired and angry, and was rubbing his neck in irritation.

"That…hurt. They could have been a bit gentler…" Largo grumbled.

Piro restrained a laugh. "Well, if you'd simply cooperated with them…"

Largo gave his friend a dirty look. "I hate you, you know that?"

"Look, the lunatic's here…" Kai complained loudly.

Largo growled deep in his throat. "This place lacks b33r. I need b33r."

The translator's had been updated with L33T, so they no longer complained when Largo used it. But most people grimaced anyway.

"There is no alcohol in this facility," Ryo explained firmly. "The best we can do is Synthetihol."

Largo groaned. "Fake b33r? That's like fake b00bs. No way."

Umi chuckled behind Largo, who jumped five feet in the air.

"Don't scare me!" Largo shrieked.

Umi laughed harder. "You know, if you're nice to Yuko, she may share her alcohol with you, Largo."

Largo's eyes got very wide, like a child at Christmas. "R-really? This Yuko chick0r has booze?"

Umi nodded, and Largo pushed past her, determined to find Yuko, and her booze.

Piro shook his head, amused. Largo was still the same old Largo.

Umi gave the boys a quick salute, and Ritchie started up the transporter.

"Good luck!" Ryo called out to the boys before they disappeared.

"Don't need it," Kai yelled back as he vanished.

"Is…this Central?" Takuya asked, looking around him at the barren landscape.

The boys were standing in the middle of an almost desert. Sand reached out in every direction for miles, broken by the occasional area of grass and trees, and a long stretch of railroad track that ran from one point on the horizon past them to the other.

Sora was revisiting breakfast behind them. He hadn't ridden the transporter before, and it made him extremely nauseous. Rei was gently rubbing Sora's back, hoping to sooth his sickness.

"Uhh…boats I can handle. Land vehicles? No problem. Gummi ships? Piece of cake. Transporters…" Sora made a gagging sound, and groaned.

"Baby…" Kai growled.

"This is actually 10 miles outside of Central," Syaoran informed the group, checking his communicator. "Apparently, Edward left Central some time ago, and is somewhere along this rail line."

Takuya groaned, and fell over backwards. "No way! We have to walk?!"

"Apparently, Edward's train had a bit of an accident, and he's walking," Syaoran continued. "We'd do well to try and catch up to him."

Sora stood up, shakily. "Well, then…let's get going."

Takuya stared out into the desert. "Great…deserts. Why is it always a desert?"

NEXT CHAPTER: Edward seems very much out of reach as Takuya and the others chase him down. What do the SoulHunters want in this particular world? Is Edward a StoneHolder? And a stray traveller shows up at the AMGDI. Is he friend or foe? Find out in **Chapter 5: "Full Metal"**


	5. Chapter 5 Full Metal

**United**

**By Steph O'Dell**

Based on the fanfiction "United We Stand" by Anime Master Zero Chapter 5: Full Metal 

(Note: I'm so sorry! Killing Tai was one of the worst things I could have done! But Yamato needed that as part of his character development and drive. You'll thank me later, trust me.

P.s.—This chapter is dedicated to the great Vic Mignogna, who is so funny and smart and really, really nice, and who, after having met in person, inspired me even more. You sir, r0x0r3d my s0x0rz. .

P.P.S.—This is going to be one LONG chapter due to a backlog. Expect it to be twice as long as the others. Fair warning.)

Takuya lifted his goggles away from his eyes, and wiped away the sand that had built up on his cheeks. Sighing loudly, he snapped his goggles back down into place, and turned to look at the others.

Kai had his scarf up over his nose, and his eyes were squinted into slits. Rei was clinging to Kai's shirt, covering his own mouth and nose with his gloved hand, trying not to breath in the flying sand. Sora was sheltering his eyes with a gloved hand, while spitting out the sand he was inadvertently swallowing. Syaoran was the only one not affected by the sand. He had explained that his home world was a large desert, and because he'd spent so much time exploring ruins out in the midst of sandstorms, he was quite used to the blowing sand.

"Sand, sand, sand!!" Takuya yelled finally. "I'm sick of all this sand!"

"It is strange," Syaoran said. "Why would they build a railroad that goes through a desert?"

"To make people angry, that's why," Kai griped.

"Well…" Takuya grumbled, turning back around to keep walking. "All I know is that…this desert is driving me nuts."

"This desert is driving me nuts, Al."

Alphonse Elrick looked up into his older brother's face. Edward's face was sour, as if he'd just eaten a raw lemon.

"What…do you mean by that, Brother?"

"Well…" Edward began, scratching the back of his head irritably, "I'm the one that's gotta DIG YOU OUT EVERY TIME YOU SINK!!"

Alphonse looked sheepish (well, as sheepish as a suit of armour can look) as he looked down to the sand he was stuck in and then back up to his brother. Alphonse, being as heavy as he was, had sank up to his armpits in the soft sand, and it was up to Edward to dig him out again.

Edward grumbled and griped as he clapped his hands together, and slammed them down onto the soft sand, using his alchemy powers to transmute a shovel.

"Sheesh, Al, you really know how to cause problems, don't you?"

Alphonse made a sad sigh, and then pulled his arm free. He helped Edward dig his armoured body out of the sand.

Edward stopped shovelling for a moment, a sad look on his face. "Of course, it IS my fault that you're in that body…guess I shouldn't complain quite so much."

Alphonse wrapped his arm around Edward's waist and gave him a gentle squeeze. "No, Brother. We're both to blame. But it's like you said, 'We'll get our bodies back eventually. No matter what.' So I can't be sad…and neither should you."

Edward game a wide grin, and started digging again. "You're right, you know?"

Alphonse finally was able to craw out of the sand. Opening his chest plate, Alphonse released the sand trapped inside his suit of armour into a large pile on the ground.

"Y'know, we'd have been in Eastern City by now, if that train hadn't have had to stop," Edward mused.

"I heard it had something to do with the track…apparently, some of it got blown up. They'll have to repair the damage before the train can run on the track again," Alphonse explained.

Edward scratched his neck the way he always did whenever something was definitely wrong. "Seems suspicious, the way the track was blown up like that. Haven't there been a lot of terrorist attacks lately?"

Edward stiffened suddenly, and motioned for Alphonse to be absolutely still. In the silence, Edward listened for the noise he swore he'd heard.

Whirling around, Edward transmuted his automail arm into a blade, and slashed apart the SoulHunter who had tried to attack him from behind.

Alphonse stared at the shadowy form as it vanished. "Wh-what was that?!"

Edward re-transmuted his automail back to normal. "I don't know, Al. Looked a little like those golems we had to fight a while back. Remember those?"

Alphonse shivered. "Yeah, I remember. I was hoping I wouldn't have to ever again!"

Edward turned, and realized that him and Alphonse were surrounded. On every side were hoards of SoulHunters, all of whom glared at the two brothers with beady red eyes.

"Didn't something like this happen when we were fighting those golems too?" Edward asked Alphonse, shakily.

"That's…a lot of …things…" Alphonse replied, his voice quivering. "Are…are we going to be able to take them all on?"

"Not alone!" a voice called out from behind the brothers. Turning, Edward found himself looking at Takuya and the other boys.

Takuya pointed at the closest SoulHunter. "You…come get some." He taunted the creature, daring it to attack.

The taunt worked, and a large group of SoulHunters descended upon Takuya's group. In a flash of fire, several of them vanished. Sidestepping the rest, Takuya released another huge burst of flame, incinerating several more.

Syaoran hack away at the enemies that tried to attack from behind, while Kai sniped several airborne ones with his _chi_ bow.

Rei found himself occupied with the faster, grounded SoulHunters. He relaxed, and allowed instinct to take over, allowing his movements to be a blur, and his body to move into some rather awkward positions with ease. He unleashed his clan's style of feline martial arts with chilling precision, and most of the SoulHunters never stood a chance.

Sora was occupied with his own brand of trouble. Large crowds of SoulHunters encircled him on every side, and it took all of his energy to swat them off with his Keyblade. When they got to be too numerous, he'd pause, and shoot some magic at them. His eyes were hard with determination, and his jaw was clenched with an inner anger, and while his swings seemed wild and unpredictable, he had a rhythm to them. Before long, the thick crowds of SoulHunters began to fall back.

Edward studied the strangers who were helping him. They seemed undisciplined, but he could see a definite skill in each person. They were masters of their own art.

Edward gave Alphonse a nod, and the two began to tag-team the rest of the SoulHunters. Alphonse used his power and size to trap and dispatch the slower ones, while Edward's fast footwork helped him slip easily in amongst the remaining creatures, and destroy them easily with his blade. Before long, the desert was once again silent, and all of the shadowy creatures had disappeared once again into the shadows.

Takuya wiped his brow, and huffed tiredly. It had been one heck of a fight, but they'd done rather well. Sora beamed at the others, proud to have survived in a fight with his peers. Rei plopped tiredly at Kai's feet, and proceeded to go to sleep, tuckered out from the intense battle.

Edward walked over to Takuya and the others, pulling a spare glove from his pocket as he did so. Takuya took quiet note of Edward's metal right hand, and decided it best not to say anything.

Edward slipped his glove on his right hand, and reached out with his left hand to Takuya. He had a grin on his face, and his eyes twinkled friendly.

"I'm sure glad you guys came to help," he told Takuya, his voice warm and courteous. He laughed loudly, and Takuya felt himself relax a bit. Edward shook Takuya's hand vigorously.

"The name's Edward Elrick, and this is my brother, Alphonse. You may have herd of us…we're kind of well known." Edward seemed proud of this fact, and grinned slyly at Kai.

Kai looked less than impressed, and quickly deflated Edward's ego. "No, not really. To be honest, up until today, I had no idea you existed."

Sora stifled giggles. Kai was mean, and Sora was glad he wasn't on the receiving end for once.

Edward's temple twitched, irritated. His kind demeanour dropped, and the real Edward came forward. He gave Kai a death glare. "What? You been living under a rock all your life?"

Alphonse shook his head and sighed. "Oh boy, here he goes again…"

Kai forced a grin, and clenched his fists. "Don't push me, midget."

Edward seemed to visibly snap at Kai's comment. His whole body twitched, and his eyes became hard and cold.

"Piece of advice…don't call me a bean sprout midget!"

Alphonse, seeing where the conversation was going, stepped in-between the two boys and help up his hands in a pacifistic manor.

"Now, now! Let's not go there, okay Brother. Let's all try to be friends, okay?" Alphonse's voice was pleading. "Please?"

Edward settled down, but he shot Kai several more dirty looks. Takuya realized that Edward and Kai didn't get along because they were so much alike—surly, irritable, and pushy.

_This…could be fun…_Takuya thought, smothering giggles.

Syaoran was introducing himself politely to the brother, while Takuya prodded Kai gently in the arm. Kai was irritated, but didn't snap at Takuya. He did give him a dirty look, but let him ask his question.

"Kai…" Takuya chose his words carefully. "Is…can Edward really be a StoneHolder?"

Kai snorted. "I certainly hope not. But the SoulHunters obviously think so, or they wouldn't have sent such a large battalion down on top of that runt…"

Edward snapped again at the word 'runt' (that he mysteriously heard over a great distance), and stomped over to Kai again, shoving his nose into Kai's nose. A considerable feat, considering Kai was several inches taller than Edward.

"DON'T…CALL…ME…SHORT!!" Edward punctuated his words to make a greater impact.

Kai glared back. "Make me."

Edward slowly broke out into a mischievous grin, one Alphonse knew right away was bad news, but he also knew that stopping him was impossible.

Edward gave a savage growl, and, much to Kai's surprise, lifted Kai a foot off the ground, and suplexed Kai into the sand. He then grabbed Kai by the ankles, and proceeded to spin Kai around and around in a vicious circle.

"Had enough? Huh! Or are you gonna insult me some MORE! Maybe shrimp cake? Or bean sprout? How about short stuff?" Edward's fury wasn't calmed until he'd actually let go of Kai and sent him skidding across the ground, and Alphonse had a firm hold of his arms.

Takuya, Sora and Syaoran howled with laughter. This was by far the funniest thing that had ever happened to Kai, and they couldn't hold it in anymore. They laughed so loud that Rei woke up with a jolt. Rubbing his eyes, he realized that Kai was hurt, and ran over to his side. Kai pushed himself to his knees, shaking angrily. The boys instantly silenced.

"Hey, half-pint midget," Kai said, his voice low and angry. Takuya and the others knew what was coming, and took off for cover. Kai turned his head, and grinned evilly at Edward.

In a flash, Kai was up, and charging Edward, who gasped, and took off at a breakneck run, with Kai close behind him. The two raced across the desert, with Edward running this way and that, trying to shake Kai. But Kai was out for blood, and eventually caught Edward, who he then beat to an almost bloody pulp.

The whole incident sent the boys into hysterics. They sat on the sand, rolling with laughter, clutching their sides, and wiping tears. If even for a moment, they forgot all about their troubles; their hardships…they were having the time of their lives, and didn't want to stop. Even Alphonse was laughing; his brother had finally found someone with just as bad a temper as him.

Edward had (sort of) patched things up with Kai…enough that they could walk together with the others to Eastern City. Edward explained that his commanding officer, Colonel Mustang, has some business to attend to in Eastern City, and had called a summons, requesting Edward and Alphonse come see him there.

Kai apparently didn't like the idea of them delaying, but he also seemed sceptical that Edward was really a StoneHolder. Any excuse to prove he wasn't was all the reason Kai needed to sidetrack.

Eastern Headquarters was a bustle of activity. Everyone seemed to be running to someplace, carrying a huge stack of paper. Officers were yelling across the room to each other, relaying messages, and asking where certain people were. The boys stood, rather dumbfounded. Edward scratched his neck, irritated.

"Damn it…I bet Roy isn't here." Edward glanced about the room, surveying the chaos. "And even if he was, I'll bet he won't have time to talk to me."

"Oh…Edward," a female voice sounded out beside Takuya, who jumped in surprise. Turning, he saw a tall young woman, with sharp eyes, and blond hair tied up tightly in a knot on the back of her head.

Edward turned, and smiled wide. "Oh! Lieutenant Hawkeye! Good to see you!"

Hawkeye smiled kindly. "I suppose you're here to see Colonel Mustang, am I correct?"

"Yeah…he gives me a summons, and then vanishes on me. Nice…" Edward grumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Hawkeye sighed. "The Colonel apologizes. But with the recent hostile activity lately, things have become hectic. He's become trapped here, under mounds of paperwork. The more he does, the more comes in to replace it." Hawkeye shook her head. "He really is sorry, Edward."

Edward was unimpressed. "And yet, he somehow manages to catch up on his sleep…"

Hawkeye turned, and suddenly realized that the other boys were standing beside Alphonse. "Oh…hello. We haven't met before. I'm Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. Can I help you?"

"Uhh…well, actually…" Kai seemed at a loss for words at that moment.

"They were on the train with me when it stopped," Edward broke in. "They helped me out with a couple of hostiles, so I thought they could come along…get some rest."

Takuya stared, amazed. Edward had just fabricated a lie to a superior officer's face, and hadn't batted an eyelash. Obviously, Edward was accustomed to lying.

Hawkeye smiled softly. "Ahh…well, I'm sorry to say this, but we have no beds to spare."

"That's fine," Kai replied hastily, recovering himself. "We're not planning on staying long anyway."

"Just passing through!" added Sora cheerfully.

Hawkeye smiled, and was about to reply, when a gruff call cut through the clamour of the room.

"Fullmetal! Get in here!"

Edward grumbled, and turned towards the call. "Yeah, yeah…I'm coming…"

"It seems Colonel Mustang has found time for Edward after all…" Hawkeye mused out loud.

Hawkeye turned at that moment to address another officer who had come up behind her, and the boys used the opportunity to follow Edward down the hall. The short boy entered an office at the end of a long corridor, and closed it behind him. However, the stop in the door bounced off the doorframe, and popped back open an inch. Kai and the other boys crowded up to the crack to watch and hear what was going on inside.

A young man, probably no more than twenty-five, was seated at a large oak desk. He stared at Edward with dark eyes from under a fringe of jet-black hair, his chin resting on his hands in a thoughtful look. Edward was standing at attention, but by the way he was clenching his fists, he obviously didn't like the person he was speaking to.

"Colonel…I'm here, like you asked me to. Now what the heck was so important?"

Colonel Mustang, for that was indeed whom Edward was speaking to, grinned a tired, yet mischievous grin at Edward. "Fullmetal, have you ever heard of the People's Liberation Faction?"

Kai couldn't see Edward's face, but he pictured a scowl. "No…should I have?"

Colonel Mustang shrugged, indifferently. "Not really. They're the terrorist group who's claiming responsibility for all the attacks lately. Apparently, they're stationed somewhere East of here, in the desert regions." Mustang rubbed his neck, tired. "Because of the backlog, I've been stuck here in Eastern Headquarters again." He looked at Edward seriously. "That's where you come in, Fullmetal."

"Me?" Edward sounded slightly disgusted. "What do I have to do now?"

Mustang looked at Edward as kindly as he could. "A city just a few miles south of here needs an alchemist to check into some local disappearances."

Edward crossed his arms. "Why an alchemist?"

Mustang rotated his chair to the left, so he faced the far wall. "Do you remember the Crowley incident some time back? Well, apparently, some strange black monsters have been sighted around the city for a few weeks now, about the same time people started going missing."

Edward turned his head slightly, to look out the window behind Mustang's desk. Edward's face was sharply outlined in the late afternoon light. Kai could tell, by both the tension in the air and by the look on Edward's face, that Mustang wasn't telling his subordinate everything.

"Any…connection between the missing people?"

Mustang's face flickered for a brief moment, as if struggling with a personal problem. Then, it went blank again. "No. None in the least."

Edward tuned away from his superior officer, his face drawn. Kai pulled back from the door slightly.

"I…see. Well then…I guess if I don't agree to go, you'll find some nasty way to court martial me for insubordination, huh?"

"You make it sound as if I'm _forcing_ you, Fullmetal." Colonel Mustang didn't smile at his weak joke. "It's not an assignment that's on record or anything. I just thought you might be…interested."

Edward ground his teeth. Mustang had him and he knew it. He turned back around to face him. "Fine. I'll do it."

Mustang nodded, and Kai saw the dark rings under the Colonel's eyes. "Then you'll be heading out to Killashandra tomorrow, then."

Edward shook his head. "Tonight. I'll catch the next train. There's no reason for me to be here."

Kai turned his head. Sora looked about to sneeze, and Takuya quickly cupped his hand over Sora's nose and mouth. Kai gave him a withering look, as if to say, "Sneeze, and you'll regret it."

Sora looked helplessly at Kai, and then managed to stifle his sneeze. Takuya removed his hand, sensing the danger now past. Kai turned to look through the crack again.

"—Feel more safe if you rested first. I can't have you collapsing on the job, now, can we?" Mustang had just finished his speech to Edward, who was shrugging it off.

"Since when do you care about my well-being?" Edward retorted forcefully.

"WHA—CHOOOOOOO!" Sora sneezed loudly.

Kai whipped around to see Sora guiltily looking at Kai, the victim of an uncontrollable sneeze. Takuya and Syaoran were panicking silently, trying to figure out what to do.

"Who's there?" Colonel Mustang's voice rang out clearly through the crack. He seemed upset, and Kai wasn't about to be caught there, red-handed. He seized Sora by the hood on his jacket, and raced down the corridor, with the other boys in tow.

Edward looked though the gap between the door and the doorframe. He studied the group's frantic retreat with misty eyes. Something told him there was a reason they'd all met like this, in one place. He shut the door properly.

"It was nothing…just some noise from the front room." He turned to Colonel Mustang, his face calm. "Where were we?"

Kai kicked Sora for the umpteenth time. "Damn you! You nearly blew it!"

Sora rubbed his shin, embarrassed. "Sorry. I really did try to hold it back, but…"

Takuya sat against the wall, staring off into the bustling town. The long shadows from the streetlamps, cast by the setting sun, stretched like evil fingers towards him. He closed his eyes, and tried to think calmly, but something was eating at his subconscious. He itched his left hand, irritated.

"The Stone…is it…does it bother you?" Sora asked Takuya, worried. Kai had moved on to grumbling in a corner, and Sora had noticed Takuya's irritated itching. Takuya looked at the Stone embedded in his hand. It did seem to be glowing faintly. Was it reacting to something?

Takuya nodded, hesitantly. "Yeah…I think it may be reacting to something. Maybe it's reacting to another Stone."

"Where did Syaoran go?" Takuya asked, frowning. He hadn't seen the older boy for a while now.

"He went back…Yuko needed to see him about something. So it looks like it's just the four of us now," Sora said, grinning.

Takuya heard his communicator crackle on, and he looked at it with interest. Without warning, a small holographic image of Ritchie appeared, hovering just above the small device on Takuya's wrist.

"Hello, sir!" Ritchie's cheerful voice spoke loud and clear, as the small image of the transporter saluted in greeting. "You like the new addition?"

"An…image?" Takuya blinked. "Wow, that's…cool."

Ritchie looked proud. "We just installed it. Thanks to Mr. Largo, we've made quite a few new changes to the computers. To be honest, Chaud isn't very happy, but…"

"They're MY computers, and you can't muck with them!" Chaud's voice came through faintly. He was obviously arguing with someone just outside of visual range.

Ritchie shook his head, bemused. "Him and Largo seem to be at odds about things."

Takuya smiled faintly. At least some good was coming out of all of this.

Ritchie turned to look at someone, and the picture flickered and changed to Piro, who gave a small smile and wave to Takuya.

"Hello…Takuya, was it?"

Takuya smiled wider. "Yes, sir."

Piro laughed. "Just 'Piro' is fine. I'm rather uncomfortable with titles."

Takuya looked embarrassed. "Sorry…"

"Anyway, I'm just calling to correct the information I gave everyone earlier. I was getting ahead of myself, it seems," Piro admitted, sheepishly. "The civil war I was talking about isn't for a while yet, you see. What you're seeing is the events that will eventually lead to the civil uprising. The terrorists are simply adding fuel to the fire."

Takuya chewed his lip. "Well, war or no war, it's getting sticky here."

Piro nodded. "Anything that might be handy?"

Takuya nodded. "Well, according to a Colonel around here, there's a small village just to the south of here where black monsters have been sighted. Apparently, people have also been going missing."

Piro looked thoughtful. "Hmm…I don't remember reading anything about that, so it's probably the work of the SoulHunters. If that's the case, then you'd better take care of that yourselves."

Edward appeared suddenly on the roof of the building closest to the boys, but with them all intent on the communication, no one noticed him. Edward looked down on Takuya from his perch on the roof. _SoulHunters…?_

"Are they here looking for the StoneHolder too?" Takuya asked, worried.

Piro adjusted his glasses. "Most likely. I heard they attacked Edward, so it's possible they're after him."

Takuya sighed. "Kai's praying it's not Edward. They're so much alike, they hate each other."

Piro laughed. "It'll be good for him."

Edward tried to figure out what he was hearing. _StoneHolder? What's that?_ He gritted his teeth, thoughtfully. _Maybe it has something to do with the Philosopher's Stone…?_

Edward made up his mind. He needed to know what was going on. He jumped down to ground level, startling Takuya.

"Ack! Edward! How long--?!" Takuya seemed flustered. _This is bad…how much did he hear…?_

Edward gave a mischievous grin. "Y'know, the area you're intending to explore is off-limits to civilians…" The mischievous grin became an evil smirk. "It'd be against the _law_ if you went in there…plus, spying is a pretty big offence too. You could be looking at, at the least, ten years."

Kai fumed. "That's blackmail. What do you want?"

Edward's grin became a smug smirk. He knew he'd won. "I want to go with you."

Sora blinked, confused. "What? But…we were going to go with you…"

Edward clucked his tongue, and waggled a finger. "Tsk, tsk. It doesn't work like that. If you were to follow me out of here, the State would be on you in an instant. But…" Edward drew out the pause for effect. "If I followed YOU, then they don't suspect anything. So how 'bout it?"

Kai made a "hmph!" sound, and turned, tossing his scarf over his shoulder as he went. "No deal. We're outta here."

Edward's face fell. He was losing them. "Wait! Hey! You don't know where you're going! Do you?"

Kai flinched. _Bull's-eye_, Edward thought.

Takuya looked at Edward. His face was hard and set, determined to find out what Kai and the others knew about the fabled Philosopher's Stone. Of course, Takuya had no idea that's why he was so determined to come with them, but he knew Edward was after something.

Kai sighed, loudly; defeated. "Fine. Get over here."

Edward made a silent act of victory, and trotted over to Kai. Takuya thought he heard a faint metallic sound when Edward walked, but he figured it was his imagination.

"Here's the deal," Edward informed Kai. "You guys head towards the fork about a mile south of here. Wait for me, and I'll be there about thirty minutes after you. I have to clear up some things with Headquarters, and get Alphonse ready." Edward scratched his neck.

Kai glared, but merely nodded. "Fine, the crossroad then. But don't be late, or I'll grill your ass, got that?" Kai's voice was low and cold as ice. Edward made a barely visible swallow, and nodded.

The fork, as it turned out, was hardly even a road. It was a tall, wooden sign, with fading markers that told which towns were in which direction, and how far. Some ways back, up the road, the thin tree line had ended, and both roads that branched off on both sides of the sign seemed to disappear into the desert.

Kai leaned against the signpost, his eyes closed, and his arms crossed. Rei sat at his feet, head resting against his leg, fast asleep.

Takuya was throwing rocks into the shimmering desert heat. He wondered how far out the oasis of sand reached.

Sora was calm. He was standing a little ways up the road, peering anxiously into the trees, looking for the blond boy and his heavily armoured brother.

"He's not coming," Takuya announced finally, irritably.

"Shut up," Kai quipped, keeping his eyes closed. "It's only been twenty minutes. He's got ten more before I go up there after him."

Sora's hair swayed gently in a hot wind. He turned his head to look at Takuya, his blue eyes twinkling.

"They're here. I can hear them."

Takuya listened silently. He could hear the metallic footsteps of Alphonse, and a constant stream of profanity from the eldest Elric brother.

Rei woke up then, yawning and stretching. Kai stood up straight, his scarf flapping angrily in the quickening wind.

"—I mean, sheesh! Enough paperwork to bury me in! What's he thinking?! If Lieutenant Hawkeye hadn't stepped in, I'd STILL be there. Ungrateful bastard…" Edward adjusted his suitcase on his shoulder, and waved at the boys with his free hand. "Hey, sorry about that. You been waiting long?"

Takuya waved back. In the ensuing banter that followed, Edward explained that to get to Killashandra, they needed to walk another mile and a half southeast to the train station, and then take a train for two hours to get to the outset town.

Surprisingly, the trip to Killashandra was uneventful. Kai kept giving Edward digs about his height, and Edward bit him several times, but there were no attacks from the SoulHunters, or from any terrorists.

It was dark when they all finally arrived in the small town of Killashandra. The boys decided that it would be best to sleep at the nearest inn, and start out in the morning.

The town inn (which was also the town bar, as was common among small towns) was a hive of activity. Several groups of people were seated at several tables, disusing things with very serious faces. Edward's face went stiff and pinched as he looked around, and motioned Alphonse to stay back.

People looked up at the group of boys as they quietly entered. Alphonse proceeded over to the innkeeper to question their lodgings.

The whole bar was silent…so quiet, Takuya was sure if he'd dropped a pin, the kitchen would have heard it. Then, a loud noise broke the quiet. A young boy, with corn-silk hair, and wild brown eyes, ran out of the kitchen, and straight at Edward.

Before Edward could react, the boy had thrown his arms around the confused Alchemist, sobbing loudly.

"Brother! Oh brother! You're back! I thought I'd never see you again! You had me so scared, Jet!"

Edward blinked several times, before breaking out into a nervous, but relieved laugh. "Uhh…sorry, kid. I'm not—"

"Malinar…" one of the men seated spoke up, calling the boy harshly. "Leave that boy alone. Can't you see he's not Jet?"

Malinar looked up into Edward's sympathetic face. "But…oh. I-I'm so sorry…it's just that…"

Edward gave the boy a sad smile, and petted him on the head. "It's fine. Happens a lot with me."

Alphonse stifled a cough, and Takuya felt certain Edward was making a white lie.

"This Jet…is he missing?" Kai asked gruffly.

The man who spoke up nodded. "About two weeks ago."

The innkeeper had returned, and told Alphonse about the rooms. She gave him the keys, and Alphonse picked up Edward's suitcase and went upstairs, while the innkeeper set up chairs for the boys.

The man introduced himself as Clive, and began to explain the situation the Edward, who listened intently. The innkeeper served everyone hot cups of coffee as Clive talked.

"About three weeks ago, a bunch of little black creatures were sighted up by the mine. At first, no one paid it any mind. We all figured it was shadows, or some kind of animal. But then, children started going missing. Jet was one of the ones who went to go figure out what was going on, but…he never came back."

Edward sipped his coffee. Takuya made a face. He never drank coffee, and Sora didn't seem overly impressed by it either. Only Kai seemed unfazed by it, and was drinking it quietly as he took in his surroundings. Rei was sleeping soundly with his head on Kai's lap.

"Do you have pictures of these kids?" Edward asked. There was a subtle undertone of fear in his voice.

All the men at the table began pulling out photos of their missing children. The boys gasped.

Every single child pictured was a boy, about Edward's height. Every one of them had blond hair. Every one of them bore an odd resemblance to Edward.

Everyone shuttered. Edward went pale, and his pupil's dilated.

"I…see…" was all he said. He stood up, shaking slightly. "Thank you. I'll be sure to look into this."

Everyone began thanking him. Edward shook his head.

"Thank me when they come back."

"What about payment?" Clive asked. "We can't possibly pay you."

Edward cracked a smile. "Hey…you got anything that needs fixing?"

Twenty minutes later, fixed tools surrounded Edward. Everyone had brought him their broken tools, and Edward had nodded.

"Okay…watch this."

With a clap of his hands, Edward began repairing the tools one by one with alchemy. Kai and the others looked on in amazement.

"It's like…magic!" Sora gasped.

"Is it….?" Takuya questioned.

"No…it's not a Stone," Kai clarified. "It's something else."

"You're an alchemist?" Clive asked, amazed.

"The real deal," Edward bragged. He produced a silver pocket watch, emblazoned with a chimera.

"A State Alchemist?" someone asked. "Him…?"

"What's your name?" another asked.

Edward smirked, and Kai rolled his eyes in disgust.

"It's Elric. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Everyone from the village gasped, and began talking all at once. Kai had had enough, and began walking up to the rooms.

"Then….the State's going to investigate this…?" The people sounded anxious, which puzzled Takuya. _Shouldn't they be glad? They're going to get their children back…_

"Obviously, there's little love for the State, even here," Sora remarked. "That would correspond with what Piro-san said."

"No," Edward replied firmly. "This is a private matter I'll solve myself. I happened to be passing through, but I'll detour for a few days to take care of this for you."

Takuya suddenly realized how Edward got to be such a good liar. It was necessary.

The next morning, Edward was gone when the boys got up. A hastily scrawled note was lying on the table by the door, which read;

"Dear people,

I've gone to check out the mine. Take your time. I should be back soon.

-Edward-

Kai crumpled the note up, and ate it out of pure frustration. He hated it when people went behind his back, and Edward already rubbed him the wrong way. He had no choice but to head out after him.

(Several hours earlier, at the mine…)

"Brother…don't you think we should have taken the others with us?"

Edward looked at Alphonse, and gave his little brother his trademark smile. "Don't worry so much. Something fishy's going on around here, and I'm going to find out what."

"But…they could help us…"

Edward scoffed, and lit a torch that was on the wall with his lighter. "Yeah…help us get into more trouble. Relax, Alphonse. It'll be a snap. Trust me."

Alphonse sighed. Somehow, his instincts told him that his brother was wrong.

(Fast forward to the here and now…)

Kai and the others raced down the dark halls of the mine, their only light the eerie light Takuya's stone gave off, which seemed to grow brighter and stronger the father in they went.

It had been several hours since Edward had left that morning, according to the innkeeper. Kai's stomach was flip-flopping with dread. As much as he hated Edward and his smart mouth, if Edward WAS a StoneHolder, they'd need him. Alive.

The small passages finally gave way to a large room, with several paths leading out into the outside. The air here was hazy with smoke, and coal dust. Kai's trained ears heard a strained cough.

"Is he here?" Takuya asked, worriedly. "I can't tell…"

"One way to find out…" Kai replied, grimly. He took a deep breath.

"Hey…midget…" he whispered, barely audible.

Everyone stared at Kai, perplexed. Suddenly, a fierce scream rang out.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN' MIDGIT?! WAS IT YOU? HOW ABOUT YOU?"

The sounds of several bodies being flung around at high velocity could be heard through the haze, and without warning, a SoulHunter slammed into the wall not two feet from where Takuya was standing.

Takuya yelped, and jumped into Sora, who was also startled. Kai smirked evilly.

"He's here. Now, get in there, and get him out," he barked. The other boys began to dive into the haze, when Edward charged out of the smoke, arms waving, and his face red with rage.

"It was you, wasn't it? I could tell! Stay there! I'll get you, you cocky bastard!!" Edward shrieked in fury. Kai laughed, and held Edward back.

"Shut your trap," Kai told him. "You're lucky you didn't get killed."

Edward made an angry noise in the back of his throat, and tried to charge Kai again.

Alphonse's arm shot out of the haze, and grabbed his thrashing bother. "You can calm down now," the armoured one told Edward.

The shock alone of having Alphonse grab him from out of nowhere made Edward stop, squealing in shock. Alphonse chuckled, nervously.

"Sorry to scare everyone," he said. "I got a little caught up in what I was doing."

Everyone made motions, as if to say, "It's fine."

"There's an exit over on the far side," Alphonse informed. "Maybe we should all head out there."

"Good idea," Kai replied, gruffly. He was still rattled from Alphonse's sudden appearance.

The group trudged out the gaping entrance of the cavern. There were mounds of earth here and there, and broken and abandoned rail carts lay on their sides.

"This must be were they sorted the minerals from the dirt," Kai pondered out loud.

Edward scratched his neck, finally calm. "Apparently, this place has been abandoned for quite some time," he explained. "The mineral vein dried up."

Takuya felt a pulse throb through his stone, and the back of his neck bristled.

"Get down!" he yelled, pushing as many people as he could down to the ground. A moment later, a large fireball smashed into the ground, not far from where they'd been standing. Edward's eyes hardened.

Flipping over, Takuya saw the silent form of Rikku, outlined against the bright sky. The ends of his bandana fluttered in the wind.

"Who's that?" Edward asked, irritably.

"Rikku!" Takuya yelled, but Sora leapt to his feet.

"Rikku? Is that you? It's me! Sora!" Sora looked relieved, while at the same time a little confused. "What are you doing? It's okay; we're not your enemy! Why're you shooting at us?"

Rikku seemed to hesitate, but he lifted his Keyblade, and pointed it at Sora threateningly.

"Get out of the way, Sora. My fight's not with you."

Sora seemed even more confused. "But…Rikku…? They're my friends! Why are you trying to hurt them?"

"Moron…" Kai muttered.

"We may have been friends once, Sora…but that's gone. I only obey the darkness now. It's my duty to destroy them," Rikku answered, his voice flat and cold.

Sora looked shocked and hurt. He became mad. "Rikku!"

Rikku shot another blast at Sora, but Takuya pushed Sora out of the way. The fireball fizzled out against the hard boulders behind them.

Rikku used the opportunity to attack. He leapt at the only vulnerable person—Rei.

Kai gave a quick cry of terror, and threw himself between Rikku's blade, and Rei's frail frame. He screamed in agony as the blade pierced his shoulder.

Rei stared, wide-eyed in terror as Kai fell into his arms, bleeding heavily. Rei realized, wincing, that he too was bleeding profusely from the shoulder. Lifting his sleeve, Rei was shocked to see no wound. It was as if his skin was spontaneously bleeding, but the pain was also there, intense and piercing. Rei clutched Kai's deep wound, trying to stop the flow of blood.

Takuya suddenly realized the danger Kai and Rei were in, but his ankle refused to move. He realized he had injured it when he'd saved Sora. The young Keyblade master lay, unconscious from a small head injury. He was otherwise okay, and Takuya breathed a small sigh of relief.

Rikku raised his blade again, ready to deliver the fatal blow. But as the blade dropped down on the two boys, there was a clang of metal on metal.

Edward stood blocking the blade, his coat and vest removed, and his automail arm morphed into a blade. The bright sunlight glistened off his metal limb.

Takuya stared in amazement. _His whole arm?!_ Takuya had thought it had only been his hand.

Edward threw the Keyblade back, and took a fighting stance. Rikku readied his blade again.

"Edward…your…arm, it…" Takuya choked. Edward's eyes were sad, even in the fury of his face.

"A long time ago, me and my brother made a bad decision," Edward explained, his voice low and steady. "Ever since, we've been looking for the Philosopher's Stone, in order to right what we did, and get our bodies back." He clenched his fists. "So…I'm not about to let something so trivial get in my way."

Rikku laughed, harshly. "Trivial? I'll teach you…" With a snap of his fingers, a small group of SoulHunters materialized, and leapt to attack. Alphonse knocked them away.

"Hey, fight fair," he growled menacingly. Edward grinned. "Thanks, Alphonse. I'll take pretty boy over here. You clean up behind me."

Alphonse nodded, and busied himself with removing the SoulHunter menace.

Edward swung at Rikku, who dodged smoothly. However, Edward sung his foot in a sweeping arch, catching Rikku off guard, and sending him to the ground. Edward drove his blade at Rikku's head, but the platinum haired boy moved his head out of the way as fast as he could. Edward's blade sank into the hard ground several inches, as Rikku rolled out of harm's way.

Edward yanked his blade free, and cartweeled out of the way of Rikku's attack. Clapping his hands together, Edward transmuted a wave of stone spikes, which Rikku dodged effortlessly. Another transmutation produced a rock blocker, which Rikku buried his sword into several inches. Cursing, Rikku yanked his blade free, just in time to have Edward plant his boot in Rikku's face. Rikku flew several feet across the yard, and smashed into a large pile of stone.

Edward wiped the corner of his mouth, panting heavily. Rikku pushed himself to his feet, using his blade as a brace. The two prepared to clash again.

Rikku lunged at Edward, who leapt backwards. Using his momentum, Edward skidded to a stop, and leapt up, firmly planting his foot on Rikku's chest, before kicking him in the face as he flipped backwards. Edward landed on his hands, and flipped onto his feet, while Rikku flew backwards, landing heavily on the ground, and skidding several feet.

Rikku slowly got to his feet, his entire body shaking with rage. Edward looked exhausted, and was gasping for air. The next clash would decide the battle.

Rikku slashed downward towards Edward, who blocked it with his arm. Grabbing the blade with his free hand, Edward yanked it free of Rikku's grasp, and threw it several feet.

Edward smirked. "It's over," he said, his voice low, but with a definite air of victory. Rikku, however, simple began to laugh.

"Fool," he explained hoarsely. "This isn't over yet." He willed his Keyblade back into his hand, and shoved Edward to the ground. Edward landed with a gasp, and Rikku plunged the blade at Edward, certain it would be his doom.

Edward gave a cry of rage, and clapped the blade between his hands. Suddenly, a bright light burst from Edward's left hand, and a silvery stone appeared.

Takuya and Rei gasped. Edward WAS a StoneHolder after all!

"Wha-what is this?" Edward asked, surprised, staring at the Stone in his hand.

"A Stone! You're a StoneHolder, Edward!" Rei explained excitedly, still supporting an unconscious Kai on his lap.

"Use it, Edward! Tap into its power and use it!" Takuya cried, equally exuberant.

Edward refocused on Rikku, who was gritting his teeth angrily. "So…you are the StoneHolder after all. Shame…I'll have to kill you and cut off that hand."

"I've already lost one arm in my life…I ain't gonna lose the other one!" Edward replied fiercely. The stone glowed faintly as his blade extended. Edward was surprised. _I didn't even use alchemy! What's going on?_

Rikku swung at Edward, but Edward blocked it with his blade. The stone in his hand began to glow brighter and brighter. Edward grabbed Rikku by the collar, and threw him down. The alchemist stood over the platinum-haired boy, his pupils contracting to pinpoints with rage.

"This is it…it's over," Edward said gravely, and a fierce battle aura began to gather. His hair whipped in the flow of energy that swirled around him, and his stone glowed with a fierce white glow.

The steel ties that lay around the area, once part of a rail track that transported carts of rock outside, began to morph and twist with a life of their own as Edward used the power of his stone to manipulate them. The steel formed a restraint that restricted Rikku, and captured him tightly.

Rikku struggled, crying out in rage. He refused to accept defeat. With one last curse of rage, he disintegrated into black mist that melted back into the shadows, and vanished.

Alphonse caught his brother as Edward collapsed from exhaustion.

"I'm…so sorry, sir," Syaoran said, his face twisted with guilt and shame. "If I'd stayed…"

Ryo shook his head. "Syaoran, being there wouldn't have changed anything. What's done is done, and no one is blaming you."

Kai sat up in bed, propped up against his many pillows. Rei sat beside his bed, folding origami to keep Kai interested. Kai cleared his throat.

"For once, I agree with Ryo," Kai spoke seriously. "Be it five or five hundred, we still would have ended up the same way. So stop feeling sorry for yourself, and go find something to do."

Syaoran glanced at Kai's right arm in its sling, and sighed. "Yes sir…" he said, and left the ward.

Takuya hobbled over to Ryo on his crutches. "Heh, these are hard to use," he joked weakly.

Ryo smiled. "How's the ankle?"

"Good. They say it's just a really bad sprain, and should heal in a few weeks." Takuya looked crestfallen. "Guess there's no work for a cripple, huh?"

Ryo grinned. "You should rest. We'll have someone fill in for you for a little while."

Ryo glanced over at Alphonse, who was sitting patiently beside his sleeping brother. The gentle giant had refused to leave his brother's side, and no one really felt like using force to remove him. Edward lay, sleeping soundly, his cuts cleaned and dressed, and his hair laying gently about his face like spun gold. He seemed peaceful…as if he knew his brother was keeping watch over him.

Sora lay in the bed beside the young alchemist. His head was wrapped in bandages, due to his concussion. He, too, was sleeping peacefully.

Takuya passed Ryo silently, and made his way down the hall towards his room. Ryo stood for a moment, in thought. He looked at Kai seriously.

"We…need to talk."

Kai stared at the paper crane in his hands, and made a noise in his throat. Rei stopped folding, and looked at Kai, puzzled.

"Rei…go…play somewhere for a little while, alright? I need to talk to Ryo…" He looked into Rei's innocent face. "…In private."

Rei looked upset, but obliged. He stood up, and walked quietly out of the room. A moment later, Alphonse, too, got up and left the room, giving Ryo a small nod of respect as he passed.

The room became strangely quiet. The only sounds were the bleeps and bloops of the machines, and Edward and Sora's gentle breathing as they slept soundly.

Kai sighed, and Ryo sat down beside him. Kai looked the young Tamer in the eye.

"What I'm about to tell you…what I'm about to explain…doesn't leave this room. Understand?"

Ryo nodded, realizing Kai was about to explain something vitally important. Kai was rarely this open.

"I…made a deal with Yuko."

Ryo was thunderstruck. "What—?"

Kai made a face, and averted his gaze. "Rei…had his heart crystal destroyed. And it was my fault. If I'd been protecting him…"

Ryo said nothing, but his eyes told Kai he thought Kai was wrong. Kai's eyes grew hard.

"There wasn't any other way to bring him back! I had to do it!" Tears began to form on the corners of Kai's eyes. "Rei…needed a piece of my heart…so that he could reform his…I couldn't just leave him like that!"

Ryo couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So…your heart…and his are…joined?"

Kai nodded.

Ryo shook his head. "So…you'd feel each other's pain…"

Kai nodded again. Ryo clenched his teeth.

"I don't expect you to get it—"

Ryo slapped Kai smartly across the cheek. Kai's eyes were wide with shock, and a bright red mark appeared on his cheek. Ryo shook with rage.

"Baka! Why couldn't you just come to us? We could have found another solution!" Ryo felt the hot tears streak his cheeks. "We…could have found another way…"

Kai glared angrily at Ryo, but did nothing. His jaw was hard and set.

"I made my choice, goddammit."

Ryo stood up, and walked over to the window. He chewed the side of his finger in deep thought.

"What did you pay…to do this…"

Kai swallowed. "Ten years of my life."

Ryo whirred around; he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "Ten years?!" Ryo cried, flabbergasted. _Preposterous!_

"My life for his! If you think about it, it's a fair trade!" Kai fired back angrily.

The two boys silently glared at each other for a few moments. Then Ryo rubbed his eyes. He was unsure of how to continue.

Kai stared at the paper crane on his lap. "Please…don't tell him…" he whispered, on the verge of tears. "If he knew…about what I've done…he'd never forgive me…"

Ryo felt another tear slip down his cheek, which he wiped away angrily. "Yeah…I understand…" Ryo replied quietly. "I won't tell him…I promise."

Ryo suddenly hugged Kai, in a fit of spontaneous affection. Kai, in a rare moment of weakness, didn't resist the hug, and actually hugged back, sobbing into Ryo's shoulder.

Ryo realized, then and there, that the situation around the AMGDI was a lot more serious than even he'd thought. He knew just how urgently they needed to find the remaining StoneHolders.

Ritchie yawned and stretched, and his back popped. Sparky itched its ear, and gave a sigh…of sorts.

"Gets pretty boring in here, huh buddy?" Ritchie asked his partner brightly. Sparky made a happy noise, and rubbed its cheek against its friend's hand.

A beeping sound from the terminal caught Ritchie's attention. He looked over to see a small red light flashing.

A message appeared on his screen. WARNING INCOMING WORLD TRAVELLER

"Whoa!" Ritchie yelped in surprise, leaping up. He began imputing commands.

_No one's due back…so who's this?_ Ritchie thought frantically.

"Ritchie!" Hien's voice barked through the intercom. "What the heck's going on? An SOS beacon just went off!"

"There's an unauthorized world traveler, sir," Ritchie said. "Apparently, whoever tripped the SOS beacon is trying to transport here, but with the system in wait mode, they're in limbo."

"Reactivate the system, and get them in here now!" Umi ordered, angrily. Ritchie swallowed. "Yes, ma'am!"

A few tense moments went by as Ritchie re-activated the system. Then, the transporter hummed to life, and, with a flash of light, the traveller landed in the room with a heavy thud.

Ritchie stared in shock at the traveller, who lay facedown on the floor. They wore a dull green army uniform, and had a shock of blond hair. Ritchie edged over to the form, and poked it gently.

"Uhggg…what…where…am I…?" The person mumbled into the floor, still trying to cohere themselves to their surroundings.

"Uhh…hello…" Ritchie was unsure of how to react.

"The figure pushed itself to its knees, holding its head in its hand. "Urk…that's one nasty headache. I've had better hangovers…"

Ritchie was surprised. This…person…sounded just like…

…_Like Edward!_ Ritchie thought.

The person lifted his face to reveal a young man, with bright eyes and a hansom face. He smiled widely at Ritchie.

"So…mind telling me what just happened?"

The man had introduced himself as Kurz Webber, and had begun telling them everything that had happened, as he wolfed down some food in the mess hall.

"Well, you see…I was stationed in the South Pacific, and I had just come back from the demolition of an illegal arms factory, when I noticed something amiss." Kurz took a long swig of milk before he continued. "There was this…I dunno, thing in the leaf litter, so I hopped out of my M9 to check it out…

_Kurz crouched down over the leaf litter, and, using his pen, lifted the dead leaves away to see the small, metal object. It almost looked to be a remote mine, and Kurz gave a whistle._

"_Can't have this lying around," he said to himself. "Guess I'll just have to disarm it and take it back with me. So I'm a little late…" He chuckled. "Looks pretty sophisticated…"_

_Kurz's brow furrowed. "Hmm…let's see…" He gently picked it up, and flipped it over deftly. He had braced for it to go off, but it hadn't. He smirked. "Must be shut off…or in standby. Still…can't have it here."_

_He pulled a small tool kit out of his pocket, and began to gently remove the back plate. He made a face at the mass of wires in the back._

"_Man…don't these things come with an off switch?" he complained. Sighing, he got to work figuring out which wires went where._

_Suddenly, his screwdriver slipped off a screw, and jabbed a small button on the motherboard. Kurz cussed, and dropped it as it made a high-pitched squeal. He thought for sure that it was all over…he was going to get blown up._

_A bright light shot out of an LED sensor on the device and seemed to pierce the clouds. Kurz, however, had covered his eyes, and couldn't see what was going on._

"_What was—" he had started to say, but then, he was suddenly transported out of the area._

"…And that's all I remember," Kurz finished with a laugh.

Ryo sighed. "I see. So, he mistook our monitor droid as a remote mine, tried to defuse it, and accidentally set off the SOS beacon, resulting in his transport here."

Hien did not look amused. "Which world was that? We need to send a replacement droid ASAP. And, we also need to send this shmuck back."

Kurz looked offended.

"Quadrant 009, World 3855-63825-72642, in the Gatou Universe," Ritchie replied, and then seemed puzzled. "Sir, isn't that—"

"Sagara and Chidori's home world? Yeah. It is." Hien made a face. "So, this nut job knows…"

"Kurz!" Kaname Chidori's voice rang out through the mess hall. Everyone turned to see her standing at the door, with Sosuke right behind her.

Kurz brightened, and leapt to his feet, arms open wide. "Miss Chidori! What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?"

Kaname put her hands on her hips and scowled. "I'd like to ask you the same question."

Kurz made a helpless motion. "It seems fate brought us together. Can't we be happy? C'mon! Give me a kiss! Tell me you missed me!" He tried to hug Kaname, who got very upset, and flattened him with her _rasaban_.

"Baka!" she yelled.

Kurz rubbed his head and whimpered. "Ohh…so mean!"

Edward chose that moment to enter the mess hall. He gave the small group by the door a dirty look, but gave Kurz the nastiest look of all. He walked down the stairs, shaking his head and muttering, "infants" under his breath.

"Hey!" Kurz called, running over to Edward, while Kaname and Sosuke exchanged looks. They both knew hoe fun loving Kurz was. And, from what they'd seen, Edward was anything but fun loving.

Edward turned to face Kurz slowly. Kurz caught up to Edward, and put an arm over Edward's shoulder in a friendly gesture. Edward's face became more irritated.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to give you the wrong impression…honest! Hey, look…let's start over, okay? I'm Kurz," he said, holding out his hand.

Edward stared at his hand for a moment, then the briefest glimpse of an evil grin flickered across his face. Kurz was holding out his right hand.

Edward firmly grabbed Kurz's hand with his hand, and squeezed. Kurz grimaced at Edward's, quite literally, iron grasp.

"Wow! That's quite the grip you've got there," Kurz told Edward, his voice weak. He was sure Edward was going to break his hand. "Didn't expect such a strong grip from such a little guy…"

Ryo and Hien's eyes widened in fear, and they took cover under one of the tables. Edward's eye twitched violently.

"…Little…" Edward became suddenly violent. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SMALL?" He threw Kurz into the wall, then picked up the nearest table, and threw it at Kurz.

Ryo and Hien shuttered. Edward had grabbed the table they'd been hiding under!

Edward breathed heavily, trying very hard to calm down, and stomped off to the counter to order lunch.

Kurz peeled himself off the wall, and rubbed his sore nose. "Did…I say something wrong?" he asked.

Everyone made exasperated noises, and turned to leave. Kurz was hopeless.

Edward, still angry, sat down to eat. Kurz tentatively approached, and Edward shot him a look that could kill.

"I'm really sorry…I didn't mean to make you so angry," Kurz apologized. Edward grumbled through his food.

Kurz noticed that Edward had a cup of coffee instead of milk. He laughed nervously. "You know, I've heard coffee stunts growth. Maybe you should drink milk—"

"I hate milk!" Edward cut Kurz off angrily. "And I'm not that short!"

"Well, it's just that milk—"

"I don't care!" Edward blasted. "I'm not drinking some opaque white liquid secreted by some cow's udder!"

"It's not that bad, really!" Kurz replied, pushing an unstable Edward closer to the edge. Edward finally snapped. He kicked Kurz with his left leg, and began bringing his foot down repeatedly on Kurtz's body in a series of nasty stomps.

"My god! Could you get any more annoying! Man, I hate this guy! I didn't think anyone was more annoying than Roy, but this guy, he takes the cake!" Edward gave a savage growl, and stomped off out of the mess hall.

"Well…" Ryo said suddenly, breaking the quiet. "I'd say that went quite well, don't you agree?"

The alarm had gone off several minutes before, and the entire assembly had come to the meeting room. There was a sense of great urgency in the air.

"We have two distress signals this time," Hien informed everyone, tiredly. "One is in Quadrant 023, World 534363-63-93532, in the NINtenDo Universe, and the other is in Quadrant 027, World 3473-362l36, in the same universe." Hien made a solemn face. "Because of the severity of the attacks, we'll have to send two separate teams in at the same time to handle this.

"Team one—your target is a young man who simply goes by the name of Link. It says contact may be hard, due to the fact that he rarely says anything at all." Hien made a face.

"Team two—you have two targets. One is a young noble by the name of Mars. The country of Durhua invaded his kingdom of Akanea recently. The other is another noble by the name of Eliwood. His kingdom of Pherae was invaded by Bern." Umi looked worried. "Plan carefully, and pick the best teams for these two assignments. I'll pray for your safety."

Everyone looked at Ryo and Kai. Who was going where?

NEXT CHAPTER: (To be completely honest, I have no clear idea what's going to happen! That's right, I'm not writing next chapter, my good friend, Acme-Rian is! All I know is it'll have Link and Mars and Eliwood in it! So, you'll just have to wait! ) Find out in **Chapter 6: "The Exile and the Dragon"**


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